Roses and Thorns
by Sahara Rose 101
Summary: Basically, my version on how Becker and Jess end up together. It will also have Abby/Connor. Beware of fluff. There will be some angst because honestly, what relationship - especially one on a show like this- goes smoothly?  Jesker fic.
1. A Playful Conversation Starts

A Playful Conversation Starts

Chapter 1

Jess' panicked voice came over through the earpiece, "Becker? Matt? Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Becker groaned, pulling himself up off the floor. "We're fine Jess. Don't panic."

Connor didn't even bother getting to his feet. "I'm fine too, Jess, thanks for asking." He closed his brown eyes welcoming the cold concrete against his bruises. "And fine is relative."

"Do you need a medic?" Jess asked, concern colouring her voice. "I can have one there in 4 minutes."

"He's fine," Matt interceded before Connor could reply. "Just a few bruises."

"If you're sure…" Jess trailed off uncertainly. She didn't have the field qualifications or knowledge to argue with her boss.

Connor opened his mouth to speak, "Ah,"

Abby walked over and pulled Connor to his feet. "He's fine. He's just being a baby."

"Am not," Connor glared at her.

"Are too," Abby replied childishly.

Becker rolled his eyes but smiled at the familiar antics. "We're fine Jess." He told the field coordinator. "We'll be home in time for dinner."

"That's good. See you in 10." Jess signed off cheerfully.

Mat ran a hand through his hair. "I need a drink."

"I second that," Connor said quickly. "There's a nice joint around the corner if you're after a good beer. If, you know, wanna go now." His confidence faded as his new boss looked at him. He and Abby had only been back from the past for a few weeks and they didn't know Matt all that well.

"Sure. Why not?" Matt smiled. "Abby? Becker?" He looked over at the other members of the team.

"Sure. Connor's buying though," Abby looped her arm through her best friend's, a playful smile on her lips.

"Why me?" Connor whined, "I always buy your drinks."

"Because if you don't, I won't cook for you and you'll starve." Abby smirked at him.

"I won't starve," Connor said indignantly. "I can call for pizza. And Jess'll cook."

Her eyes widened. "We can't go. We're going home with Jess and we've got the car."

"I was looking forward to it too," Connor complained then an idea struck him. "Why don't we run back to the ARC and pick her up and go somewhere else?"

"It's an hour both ways Connor," Abby said in her patented 'Connor, you're an idiot' voice. She turned to Matt, "What about somewhere closer to home?"

"Fine by me." The Irishman shrugged. "A beer's a beer."

"I've got to go back to the ARC to return the equipment, I'll drop Jess off with you on my way home," Becker said.

"Come with us mate," Connor clapped him on the back. "It'll be like old times."

Becker shook his head. "Maybe another time," He started walking to his 4WD. "Text the address when you pick a pub."

Becker walked into the near deserted Ops room. Jess was the only one still at the office and hadn't heard him walk in. A coy smile grew on his lips as he edged closer to her turned back. He slammed his hands on the back off her chair, tipping it back slightly. "So, how was your day?"

Jess jumped out of her chair with a strangled scream and spun around to face him. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She put her hand over her rapidly beating heart.

"Sorry," He said unapologetically. He couldn't help but grin at her glare. It was adorable.

"Give me some warning next time, please." She hooked her foot around her chair and swung it round so she could sit back down.

"Maybe," He grinned down at her.

She glowered at him.

He sighed heavily. "Fine, I will warn you." Becker unhooked his black box and plugged it into its charger. "Anything else you want?"

Jess leant back in her chair. "To crawl into bed and sleep for a week."

He chuckled. "I don't think I can help with that."

"I know," She closed her eyes. "Doesn't stop me wanting it." She frowned, realising something was missing. "Where's Matt? And Abby and Connor?"

"The pub," Becker answered simply, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Wonderful. What's the number for a taxi?" She opened her eyes and picked up her phone. He reeled off a number he'd learnt off by heart. She was halfway through dialling when she recognised the number. She looked up at him, "That's your number."

"Is it really?" He put on a mock surprised face. "Oh that's right," Becker put a hand to his forehead as though he'd forgotten something. "I told Abby and Connor I'd take you to the pub on my way home so I guess I'll take you home instead."

"Were you going to tell me anything of this or was I going to have to work it out for myself?" Jess asked him, a small smile growing despite the slight irritation of not having a say in the plans.

"It was more fun this way," Becker shrugged.

She rolled her eyes, grabbed her hand bag and stood up. "Lead the way then."

"Yes Ma'am," He put a hand on the small of her back as he led her to the elevator.

"Don't call me Ma'am. I'm not old," Jess huffed at him.

"You're not going to the pub because you're tired and its 6 o'clock on a Friday night, you sound old."

"I'm not as old as you!" She retorted as the elevator doors shut.

He frowned. "That was harsh. But true." He smiled at her to let her know he knew she was teasing. "Are you on call this weekend?"

"Nope. Thank God. You?"

"No. I think Lester took pity on me. I have to train the new unit next week. That's going to be fun." Sarcasm dripped from his words.

"Look at the bright side, you get to practically murder them with training and then shove a dinosaur at them. I have to sit through the same video that I have seen at least 100 times –literally- with all ten of them."

"I don't practically murder them with training," Becker replied indignantly as the elevator doors opened at the car park. "It's good for them. You might want to come."

Jess marched out of the elevator and turned, arching an eyebrow. "Are you trying to say something?"

Becker realised his mistake as he hurried after her. "No, I meant that… I didn't mean… I meant that in our occupation, a little self defence training couldn't hurt."

"I know," The twinkle in her eye let him know she didn't take offence.

"I'm serious, Jess. I could teach you," He offered as he gestured to a black sedan

She laughed. "I did karate once at school. Didn't end well."

"I think I'm a better teacher than a high school sports teacher."

"Again with the ego," She laughed again she hopped into the passenger seat.

"Would you prefer me to have low self-esteem?"

"No!" Her answer came out more vehement than she meant it too. He smirked at her as she fumbled for a proper reply. "I mean that, for you… it's good?"

"Close enough," He started up the car and drove out of the undercover car park. "You're going have to direct me."

"Don't you have a GPS?" She looked at him in surprise.

"Some of us like old school."

"Or you just don't like being dependent on anything," Jess supplied a different reason.

"Was that in my file too?"

She blushed. "No… I worked that out for myself."

"Smart girl," He commented lightly. She was spot on. "You're not like some child genius are you?"

"I'm not a child!" The shrill tone of voice told he'd hit a nerve.

"Sorry."

"It's ok… I just get sick of being called a kid. But to answer your question: no I'm not a genius."

"Just borderline OCD with bossing us around." He used a teasing tone of voice to ease the harshness of the words.

She huffed good naturedly. "I'd like to see you do my job."

"I'd like to see you do mine," He chuckled and pulled to a stop as the traffic around froze. "What the hell…"

Jess reached for her bag and fished out her phone. "Bad traffic jam," She declared after a quick search. "Car accident."

"Is there anyway around it?" Becker craned his neck to find an escape route but couldn't see any.

"No, sorry."

"Don't apologise, it's not your fault," He glanced over at her.

"If you weren't taking me home you wouldn't be stuck in this," Jess pointed out.

"Actually, I live this way."

"Oh." She fell silent for a moment. "I should call Abby and tell her I'm not coming."

"Probably," Becker agreed.

Jess pressed the speed dial number and waited while it rung.

"Hellooooo!" Abby shouted into the phone.

Jess pulled the phone away from her ear. "Abby?" She asked for clarification. She'd never heard her new flatmate so loud.

"Jess! When are you getting here? Connor's just put some songs on the jukebox. We're gonna do karaoke!" Abby yelled over the din of the pub.

Jess was instantly glad she hadn't decided to join them. "I'm not coming Abby. I'm just gonna head home."

"Come on. Party with us! It will be fuuuuuunnnnnnn!"

"I'll see you at home. Bye!" Jess hung up. "Wow…" She blinked. "I didn't expect her to be so…" She trailed off trying to find the word.

"Wasted?" Becker supplied helpfully.

"You heard that?"

"Jess, I think the people in the car next to us heard that."

"Oh."

Becker leant on the steering wheel, trying to see the end of the traffic jam. "This is ridiculous."

"Welcome to London," Jess said wryly. She stifled a yawn.

"Tired?" He looked over at her sympathetically.

She nodded. "I've been writing contingency plans since 6."

"So you're the person I get to blame when we get ordered to do safety drills?"

"No. That's OHS' department. I was doing stuff like the ARC gets invaded again and stuff like that."

Becker's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "You expect that to happen again?"

"No, but Lester made me plan for everything short of alien invasion. Actually alien invasion was on the list but I though he wasn't being serious." She added quickly.

"Any of those plans involve getting out of traffic?"

"No, sorry," Jess shook her head. A small growl echoed through the car. She jumped. "Is that a creature?"

"No," Becker coloured slightly pink. "That was my stomach."

"Why didn't you say you were hungry? You could have grabbed something on the way out."

"Well, I didn't expect the traffic jam of the century now did I?" He snapped at her. He winced at the tone. "Sorry. I didn't mean that."

"It's fine. You should see me when I'm hungry. It's like 'stay away or be eaten'. I don't mean I'll eat you, I meant-"

Becker cut her ramblings short. "I know."

Jess looked out the window. "Pull over here."

"Why?" Becker looked over, alarmed.

"Just do it," Jess told him tersely.

He obeyed the order, parking neatly on the curb. "Happy now?"

"No, but you will be." Jess jumped out of the car and started walking towards a 24 hour café.

"Jess? Where are you going?" Becker called after her. He got out of the car and caught up to her in a few strides.

She turned to him, looking up at him. "I used to come to places like this all the time. They have the best food. And it's better than sitting in gridlock for hours."

He blinked. He hadn't been expecting that. "Jess…"

She pulled open the door. "Are you coming?"

He sighed and followed her. "Anything beats sitting in traffic."

"See that wasn't so bad," Jess put down her knife and fork.

"Actually, that was good," Becker said as he finished off his steak and salad. "You know how to pick them."

"Of course I do," She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Again with the ego," He parroted her words from before with a smirk.

"Anything else loves?" The bored middle aged waitress returned.

Becker glanced at Jess before answering for the both of them. "No thanks Ma'am."

"Here's the bill then." She handed them the bill and left.

Jess reached for her handbag but Becker waved her off. "I've got it."

"Becker, I can pay for myself. Besides it was my idea."

"My mother raised a gentleman," He fished out the money from his wallet. "And a gentleman never lets a lady pay."

She smiled. "That's sweet," She leant back in the chair. "Fine, I'll pay next time."

"That's awfully presumptuous of you Jessica." Becker teased in a serious tone.

She blushed crimson. "You know what I meant."

"I know," He smiled and laid the money on the table. "Come on, it looks like the traffic jam has cleared." He offered her a hand to get up.

She accepted the hand. "You weren't kidding about your mother raising a gentleman were you?"

"No," He shook his head. "She made sure I had manners."

"She sounds nice," Jess commented as he pulled the door open.

"She is," He clicked the remote so the car doors unlocked. "So which way are we going?"

"Left," Jess answered quickly, "I'll tell you as we go. It's kinda complicated."

"I can do complicated," Becker retorted.

"I know."

They fell into a companionable silence with Jess giving directions ever few minutes. Becker glanced over to see Jess fighting to keep her eyes open. "Are you awake?"

"Why do people ask that question? It's not like the person who's asleep is going to answer," Jess asked absently.

"You ramble even more when you're tired," Becker noticed.

"Yeah," She agreed sleepily. "Turn right here." She pointed to the corner they were coming up to. "Then it's the fifth one on the left."

Becker followed the directions and pulled up in front of a modern townhouse. He let out a low whistle. "Nice place."

"Thanks," Jess undid her seatbelt. "Thanks for bringing me home."

"My pleasure," Becker replied with a courteous nod.

"It's time to party!" A familiar voice yelled. They looked up to see Connor on the balcony, waving a bottle of wine. "Anyone want to join us?"

Jess hung her head. "Wonderful." There went her plans to sleep.

"You could tell them to be quiet," Becker said quietly.

Loud 90s party music started playing. "They deserve a chance for a break. I can sleep tomorrow." Jess shrugged. "Lucky I have the day off right."

"You can barely keep your eyes open, Jess. You need to sleep. Put your seatbelt back on. You can stay at mine tonight."

Jess eyes widened. "What?"

**A/N: So I'm officially on the Jess/Becker bandwagon now. They're just so cute. What's their ship name anyway? Jecker or Jesker? Cos I've seen both. I apologise if this seems a little too flirtatious for them. I went used their conversations from the prequel episode thingys for the basis of this. Their meeting = so adorable. **

**This will be an extremely fluffy story with a little bit of angst later on. It's gonna be long hopefully but I doubt updates will be regular because I start my final year of school in a week. And I need to focus on that. But I promise I won't abandon this. I think I will need the happiness to keep sane. Reviews would also make my day :D**


	2. Good Morning Sushine

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews. I'm sorry I haven't replied. I've been a little busy. But again, thank you for the reviews. I can't believe how many I've gotten! Anyway onto Chapter 2.

Chapter 2: Good Morning Sunshine

Becker stretched languidly and checked the I-pod dock beside his bed. The luminous green digits read 8:00. He smiled sleepily; that was a good sleep in for him. The slight noise of bedsprings shifting made him remember his sleeping colleague. He could just make out her head on the couch through his open door. Jess'd had made a fuss about being an imposition but he took no notice of it. He would've done the same for any of his men under his command. _But none of them would have filled out one his borrowed T-shirts so well,_ an evil voice in his head spoke up. He shook the voice away. He couldn't have thoughts like that about a colleague.

He got up quietly and shrugged on a shirt that had been thrown atop a chest of drawers. _Breakfast_, he decided silently making his way into the small kitchenette connected to the lounge room. He stole a peek at Jess, ensuring he hadn't woken her up. She was still fast asleep and had somehow wound the quilt around herself so she looked as though she was in a cocoon. Becker's lipped quirked. _Figures she wouldn't even be able to sleep still_.

He pulled open the pantry doors, trying to find something edible. He closed them again, wincing at the creak. Somehow he thought she wouldn't like a microwave dinner for breakfast. Becker spotted the breadbox next to the toaster. _Toast! I can do toast. _He put the bread in the toaster and stood back to wait. The clock on the wall read 8:15. Becker walked silently over to the couch where Jess was sleeping. He paused, unsure of how to wake her. Erring on the side of caution, he tapped her on the shoulder gently. "Jess?"

She moaned lightly and rolled over, not stirring at all.

He tapped her shoulder a bit harder. "Jess? Abby will worry if you're not home soon."

She swatted a hand at him, connecting lightly with his jaw.

"I'm going to guess that you are not a morning person," He said dryly, leaning back on his haunches. "You asked for it," He stood up and said loudly, "Sleeping on the job Jess? I never would have expected that?"

She bolted up right, eyes unfocused. "What?"

He couldn't help but chuckle at her doe eyed expression. "Just kidding. You're not at work."

Jess ran a hand through her tangled mane of brown hair. "What time is it?"

"8:15," Becker answered. "Half the day's already gone," He added cheerfully.

She rolled her eyes. "For a soldier maybe. I have friends that don't get up until midday."

"I couldn't imagine doing that," Becker shook his head.

Jess shrugged as she unwound herself from the quilt. "Each to their own, I guess. You should see what Abby does to wake up Connor."

"I don't think I want to."

"I didn't mean _that_!" Jess gave him a playful shove on the shoulder. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Sorry," Becker replied, "But you did make it very easy."

Jess opened her mouth to reply but frowned. "Is something burning?"

"The toast!" Becker ran into the kitchenette and plunged a finger into the toaster to dislodge the now charcoal black toast.

Jess followed him and blinked when she saw the toast. "What did you do? Lob a grenade at it?"

"No," Becker ran his finger under the tap. "Did that with a chicken once. Wasn't much left to eat."

She lowered herself onto a stool under the bench. "I can't tell if your being serious or not."

He chuckled. "Neither can I." Becker turned and threw the toast in the bin. "Well there goes breakfast."

Her eyes widen. "You did that for me?"

He nodded stoically, a little embarrassed.

"That's so sweet," She smiled brightly. "But I am so buying you a cookbook for Christmas. Or your birthday, whichever comes first."

"Isn't my birthday in my file?" He shot her a teasing look.

"I told you I don't' read the personal bits," She retorted quickly. "I'm not a stalker or anything like that. That would be creepy."

"Very creepy," Becker agreed, biting back a smile. Her cheerfulness was contagious.

"You could come back to mine for breakfast," Jess said suddenly. "Abby and Connor are probably asleep by now. It could be a thank you for letting me crash on the couch."

"That would be-" Becker was cut off by Jess' mobile singing out.

"Hold that thought," She ran over to her bag and rummaged through it for her phone. "It's Matt," She announced looking at the caller ID. "Hi Matt," She answered the call.

Becker slumped against the kitchen counter. "So much for a weekend off." He muttered, a little bitter.

"An anomaly?" He heard Jess say. "Near High Street?" She paused, listening to what their boss was saying. "I can be in the ARC in 20 minutes. I'll tell Becker to meet you there. Don't bother calling Connor and Abby; they'll be really hung over. Bye," She hung up hurriedly and looked up at Becker apologetically. "Looks like breakfast will have to wait. Matt wants you at High Street ASAP. Can you drop me off on the way?"

"Sure, just let me get dressed," Becker hurried to his room and delved through a drawer to find a shirt. He threw it at Jess who caught it, "It shrunk in the wash so it should fit. Saves you from doing the walk of shame. You can get dressed in the bathroom." He closed the door. He wasn't trying to be rude; it was just that time was of the essence.

"What's the walk of shame?" She called from outside.

"Where you go to work in the exact same clothes as the day before. Everyone assumes you spend the night with someone," Becker explained quickly.

"Oh. Have you done the walk of shame?" The question was out of her mouth before she could stop it. "Sorry, don't answer that. It was too personal."

"It's fine," Becker opened his door and walked out to the lounge to wait. "Haven't done it in years."

"Right," Jess opened the door, still tucking in his shirt to her short grey skirt. "Does this look ok?"

"Yes."

"If you're lying, I'll just tell everyone it's the new fashion." She said with a smile as they walked out the flat.

"I'm not lying," He replied honestly. "You look good."

She blushed at the praise. "Thanks."


	3. I Need A Wish Right Now

A/N: This chapter's more focused on Abby/Connor at the start than Jess/Becker. They just kinda intruded on the story. Again, thanks for all the reviews :D. They mean a lot. Do feel free to be more critical. I'm planning on doing Professional/Creative Writing at Uni next year so all criticism is wanted and appreciated.

Chapter 3: I Need A Wish Right Now

With his feet pounding the pavement, Becker revelled in the sunlight that made its way through the grey skies. He ran past people strolling through the park with the ease of practice. They were, after all, easier targets to avoid that agitated creatures. It wasn't often he got to run through the city's premier park and he was enjoying every minute of it. He kept glancing down at the mobile strapped to his arm, expecting it to go off any second. It had been one of those weeks.

Becker put on an extra burst of speed, trying to forget the events of the past week. It had started off well enough with Jess returning his shirt with a bright green thank-you note in his locker. How she'd gotten into his locker she never said. He'd even tried to bribe her with chocolate – nothing with orange though- to no avail. Then came the new recruits. With their gleaming CVs and even more polished references he'd expected a lot, maybe too much because he was disappointed. One of them took one look at the Woolly Mammoth and went running for the door. Another saw the Dragcorex and nearly fainted from shock then declared he had a phobia of lizards. Matt had barely contained a chuckle when Becker had reported this. Connor wasn't much better; suggesting they introduce a creature taming course to the Special Forces training regime.

The shrill alarm tore him from his musings, letting him know he'd received a text. He grabbed it and opened the message without breaking his stride. _If you see Connor, don't let him to anything stupid – J. _It was from Jess but he didn't understand what she was talking about. Of course he wasn't going to let Connor do anything stupid – that was his job. But he wasn't supposed to see Connor today. A slight frown formed on his face; Jess wouldn't have texted him if it weren't important. He mentally shrugged off the worry and decided to call her when he got home. _It couldn't be that bad_, he thought as he made a U-turn and headed home.

Connor leant against the wall opposite Becker's flat and was nearly run over as Becker exited the elevator.

The military man looked at him in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

Connor glanced down at the floor, scuffing his boot at the fraying grey carpet. "Abby and I had a bit of a row."

Becker nodded sympathetically. That made sense of Jess' text. She'd probably heard the whole thing and was worried. He opened the door and walked inside, gesturing for Connor to follow him. "It's not very clean, I warn you."

Connor shrugged nonchalantly. "I've seen worse."

"So…" Becker ventured awkwardly, "How bad was it?" He'd never been good with dealing with relationships, be it his own or other peoples.

"She kicked me out of the flat," Connor looked back at the ground, not meeting his friends eyes. "It was pretty bad."

"How did she kick you out? Aren't you living with Jess?"

"Mate," Connor scoffed, "you've never seen Abby in a bad mood. And I screwed up. Like majorly screwed up."

"What did you do?" Becker moved to the kitchenette and pulled a couple of light beers from the fridge. It was only 11:00 but Connor looked like he needed it.

"You know how Phillip wanted to get rid of the creatures? Well, I said I kinda agreed with him. And it just kinda escalated from there. And there was … other stuff."

"Maybe she just needs time to calm down," Becker tossed him the beer bottle.

Connor opened the bottle and skulled half of it down. "She was furious. I've never seen her so angry. And I've seen her angry before. Hell, I've made her angry before but not like this. She was crying and everything. Abby never cries. Ever."

Becker tried to think of what to say. "Did you try to apologise?"

He nodded, "She threw a candle at my head." He gingerly touched the spot where it had hit. "I'd forgotten she had such a good aim."

"Flowers? Chocolate?" Becker went through all the apology methods he'd seen in the chick-flicks he'd been dragged to with previous girlfriends. "Badly written poetry?"

"Hates them. Doesn't like it that much. Do you want me to end up dead?" Connor answered the questions in order. He put his head in his hands. "I'm screwed. She's never going to want to talk to me again."

Abby threw herself onto the couch. "I never want to speak to him again!" She screamed into a bright red throw pillow.

"Here," Jess put down a tray of tea and chocolate cake on the coffee table in front of the couch. "This might help."

Abby lifted up her head, grey rivers of mascara had dried to her cheeks. "How?"

"My grandmother said tea solves everything," Jess answered and sat down opposite the blonde. "Well, tea and tequila," She added with a little shrug.

"Your grandmother told you that?" Abby asked, surprised.

"Yep," She nodded.

"Wow. Mine told me to never kiss a boy until we were married to them," Abby rolled her eyes. "Look how that turned out."

"What did Connor do?" Jess asked before she could stop herself. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"He did what he always does: pick someone else over me. And this time it's not even a girl."

Jess blinked. "Connor cheated on you with a man?"

Abby snorted, "No. As if. Connor wouldn't cheat. He's just a liar. And a hypocrite and a chauvinistic idiot genius."

"Abby, what happened?"

"Didn't you hear the screaming?" Abby asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

"I was listening to my i-pod. It didn't seem right to listen," Jess said, biting her lip. "I mean, I wouldn't want anyone listening to me my…" She trailed off, not knowing how to address Connor. She didn't know if they were friends or more than friends.

"Thanks Jess," Abby smiled at the younger girl. "At least someone cares about my privacy."

Jess bit back the question she was dying to ask. It wouldn't do to nag Abby at the moment; she needed a friend not a curious puppy. "I think I have ice cream in the freezer."

Abby's eyes lit up at the implied offer. "Cookies and Cream?"

"Maybe. I don't know," Jess stood up. "I'll check."

Abby reached for the cup of tea, "I'll love you forever if you do."

There was a clang from the kitchen as Jess emerged triumphant with a container of cookies and cream ice cream and two spoons. "I figured bowels wouldn't matter."

"No need to be fancy," Abby reached over and grabbed the container. "Ta." Abby dug in, relishing the desert. "Well this is a healthy breakfast," she laughed humourlessly.

"Speak for yourself," Jess replied. "I had cereal." She tugged the container out of Abby's hands and ate some. "What are you going to do at work?"

"Shove him through an anomaly?" Abby offered, half serious. "I'm joking," she added, seeing Jess' alarmed face. "No," she sighed heavily. "I'll have to talk to him eventually. Until then, ice cream is good." She took the container and started eating.

Becker walked down the hall, drying his hair with a towel after his shower. He'd left Connor alone to think things through while he cleaned up thinking that the techie needed the time to clear his head. Becker heard the fridge open and close and rounded the corner to see Connor somewhat clumsily opening up another beer. "How many of those have you had?"

Connor took a swig of beer before answering. "Um three. You don't mind do you?"

"It's not even midday yet and you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk!" Connor retorted indignantly. "Maybe a little buzzed," he added after he stumbled a little. "I'm a bit of a lightweight when it comes to beer."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Becker said dryly.

"I just needed some liquid courage."

"For what?" Becker asked suspiciously. This probably wasn't going to end well.

"For my master plan," Connor declared with a flourish. "I am going to apologise to Abby until she's so sick of it, she'll forgive me."

"And how will you get through the front door?"

"I'm still working on that."

Connor walked up to the front door and raised his hand to knock then turned around and ran back. "This is a bad idea."

Becker nodded, "True. Do you have a better one?"

Connor's shoulders slumped, "No." He turned and went back to the door. He knocked twice. "Pizza delivery!" He called out, deepening his voice and putting on a strange accent.

"That's original," Becker chortled.

"Shut up," Connor retorted, casting a quick look back. "I can hear someone coming."

Jess' voice floated through the door. "I'm sorry, we didn't order any pizza." She opened the door and her eyes widened. "Connor," She immediately started to close the door but Connor grabbed the handle and pulled the door wide open. She strained to close it, not wanting to let him in.

"Jess, please. I need to talk with her," Connor begged.

She stopped trying to close the door and the lack of force made Connor stumble backwards. His hand slipped from the door handle and Jess grabbed it and slammed the door shut. "Abby, Connor's trying to break in," She yelled.

"She's stronger than she looks," Connor commented as he straightened.

"She'd have to be," Becker replied. "So what are you going to do now that your brilliantly construed plan failed?"

"He's going to leave!" Abby yelled from somewhere in the townhouse.

"No!" Connor answered, "I'm going to stay here until you forgive me."

"You're going to be there for years," Abby replied.

"Then I'll wait for years."

Becker sighed, leaning up against the wall then jumped as his mobile went off. He fished it out of his pocket and read the text. _I thought I told you not to let Connor do anything stupid_, it read.

He quickly typed a response to Jess, _I tried. You know how stubborn he is._

"Who's that?" Connor craned his neck to see who Becker was texting. "New girlfriend?"

"A friend," Becker replied curtly. He didn't like people getting into his business, particularly someone who wouldn't let it go.

"Wish I had one of them," Connor said despondently. Realising what he said, he added, "Aside from you. A girlfriend. I mean a girl who's a friend. I've already got a girlfriend… kinda. Like Abby used to be. To help me understand Abby."

Becker commented sardonically. "I don't think anyone can help with that."

"She taught me how to flirt," Connor retorted.

"And how did that work out for you?"

"Stop with the mocking. I did get a girlfriend after that."

"Caroline doesn't count as a girlfriend, Connor. She was being paid." Abby interrupted loudly from the other side of the door.

"Eavesdropping is rude, you know," Connor called back.

"So is taking a tosser's side over your girlfriend," Abby retorted angrily, her voice sounding closer than before.

Becker's phone beeped again and he opened the message. _I know,_ Jess' text read. _They're both stubborn. I'm going to be stuck in here for hours._

_Don't you have a fire escape? At least you have food in there_, he typed quickly, his stomach rumbling, as Connor got up and made his way back to the door.

"Abby, I'm sorry. You have to forgive me. I didn't mean it," He leant his head against the door. "I'll always pick you; I love you."

"So why did you say Rex would be better of dead?" She demanded hotly, anger making her voice quiver.

Connor hit the door. "I didn't…. I didn't say that. I just meant…." He trailed off uncertainly. Words like this never came easily to him. Abby didn't reply. "Abby? Are you still there?" Suddenly Pink's So What started blasting from inside the flat. Connor turned and his back slid down the door. "She hates me."

"She doesn't hate you. She's just mad. Maybe if you give her some time…." Becker suggested.

Connor shook his head. "I'm staying here,"

Becker sat down, joining Connor on the floor. "Maybe you'll get points for persistence."

"Doubt it," The tech replied as Becker's phone beeped again. "Jeez, someone's popular. Didn't know you had any friends outside the arc."

"Are you saying I don't have friends?" Becker asked as he switched the message alert to silent. The frequent beeping was starting to annoy him.

"No," Connor said indignantly. "I meant that you don't talk about yourself much. I don't even know your first name." Connor caught Becker's dark look and added, "I'm guessing there's a reason for that."

"Yep," Becker nodded and checked the text. _No fire escape. I know, totally unsafe. You don't have to tell me. Are you hungry? And at least you can leave._

"You're not gonna go are you mate?" Connor asked, obviously haven read the text from where he sat. "I need you. You're my wingman. You're the Shaggy to my Scooby. The Spock to my Kirk."

Becker raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Well, you're the Kirk to my Spock," Connor amended. "If you ever have a tiff with a girlfriend, I'll be with you 100 percent. If, you know, you want me to be."

"Connor," Becker said slowly.

"Yeah, mate?"

"Shut up."

"Shutting up."

Becker looked back to his phone and texted out a reply. _You should have a fire escape_. _And I can't leave. Connor just begged me to stay. _He pressed send, purposefully not answering her question; there was no point complaining.

Her reply was almost immediate. _I heard. Kirk to his Spock :P. That's cute. Do you like blueberries?_ He angled the phone so Connor couldn't read it this time.

_How did you hear? And yes, I like blueberries. Why? _He texted back and looked up at Connor. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm thinking," Connor said softly then he blinked as a sudden idea struck him. "Do you think anyone would notice if I kidnapped Rex and brought him back here?"

Becker's head almost collided with the plaster covered brick wall. "Yes Connor," he drawled. "I think someone would notice you carrying a bright green dinosaur out of the ARC."

"It was just an idea," Connor said, slightly hurt. "I just… I don't know what to do."

They fell into silence for a minute. There wasn't much either of them could say. Becker's phone vibrated in his hand and he opened the message. _Look up_ was all it said. He obeyed the order and looked up to see Jess standing on the small alfresco balcony above them. She smiled and dropped a foil wrapped object. He caught it before it hit the ground.

"What is that?" Connor asked, glancing over at him. "Where did it come from?"

"Jess," Becker said simply, unwrapping the object to find a blueberry muffin. He looked back up, "Thanks!"

"No problem," She darted back inside.

Connor's eyes darted to the balcony, an idea forming in his mind. "How high to do you think that is?"

Becker bit into the muffin, "What?"

"The balcony. How high is it?"

Becker swallowed quickly. He realised what Connor was thinking off. "Connor, you'd never make it."

He stood up, "Gotta try though."

"Connor," Becker said in a warning tone. "You'll hurt yourself."

"Never stopped me before," He walked down the driveway and took up a runner's starting position.

Becker started to panic. He didn't think Connor had been that serious about it. "Abby!" He yelled, straining to be heard over the loud music. "Connor's doing something stupid!"

The music stopped just as Connor started running. He sprinted up the driveway and launched himself into the air as though he was Superman. Becker cringed, waiting for the sound of flesh meeting concrete but it never came. He looked up to see a pair of jean clad legs kicking in mid air.

Connor was holding onto the edge of the balcony for dear life. "It worked," He started laughing. "It actually worked."

The front door flew open. "Are you crazy?" Abby yelled, "You could have killed yourself!"

"I'll die if you don't forgive me," Connor replied breathlessly. His arm muscles burnt from holding himself up.

Abby rolled her eyes, "Get down Connor."

"Not til you forgive me," He panted, his arms straining even more. His legs kicked in the air, trying to propel him higher. Jess walked out the door, her eyes widened when she saw what was going on. Becker motioned for her to be quiet and she moved next to him.

"Connor…."

"My life is not worth living without you."

"Get down you daft idiot."

"I love you."

"Get down before you hurt yourself," Abby snapped.

"Say you forgive me," Connor counted, ignoring his protesting muscles.

"I forgive you. Now get down!"

Connor let go and landed hard on the concrete. "Ow," He rolled onto his side, holding his ankle. "That hurts."

Abby knelt down beside him, "Good. Serves you right."

"You know a little bit of sympathy wouldn't go astray," Connor glanced up at her and saw her angry expression. "Or not," He rolled from side to side. "It hurts. I think I broke it."

Abby lifted up his jeans and felt the swollen ankle. "No, just sprained," She declared and stood up. She offered a hand up and he took it gratefully.

"Thank you," He said as he stood on one foot. "I mean it, thank you." He wasn't just talking about the help up and she knew it.

"It's what we do," Abby shrugged. "Let's get you inside," She wrapped a hand around his waist, taking some of his weight, and helped him hobble into the flat.

Becker and Jess moved out of the doorway so they could get passed. Abby rolled her eyes at Jess as she went passed. Jess smiled and Becker looked between them, confused.

"Was that one of those private girl conversation things?" He asked softly leaning down so she could hear.

"What things?" Jess looked up at him.

"When you say things about the people around you without saying anything," He clarified, giving her a searching look.

She bit her lip, "Maybe." Jess didn't bother lying; she wasn't a good liar.

"Well, what did you say," He edged a little closer, using his height advantage against her.

She ducked under his arm, "I'm not going to tell you."

He grabbed her arm and spun her around like he was dancing with her. Becker nearly smiled at her doe eyed expression. "Tell me," He ordered.

"No," Jess' chin rose defiantly.

"Jessica…"

"Becker…" She parroted the whining tone.

He had to bit back the smile again. There was something about her that made him want to smile all the time. He let her go, "Fine. But I will find out one day."

She smiled at him playfully, "Maybe, maybe not."

A/N: So school has become a black hole time of a time sucker, which means updates won't be regular. I will try to be fast but please don't hate me for being an unpredictable poster. This is my senior year and in my system every piece of assessment is my final grade so I have to work hard. On a brighter note, who's seen episode 6? OMG…. Jess/Becker… so damn cute! I want to know how Becker knows where she lives… Hmmm plot bunnies are running wild now.


	4. That's The Sound On The Window Pane

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews :D. Sorry the update took so long.

Chapter 4: That's The Sound On The Window Pane

Jess teetered in the doorway, "Abby are you sure this is safe?"

Abby looked over her shoulder at the nervous girl. "He's perfectly harmless. Watch," She threw an apple high into the air and the mammoth's trunk snaked out of its stall, catching it with ease. The mammoth trumpeted loudly as if in thanks.

Jess laughed, edging slowly into the room. Perhaps they weren't so scary. "He's acting like a dog. A very big dog."

"I told you – he's harmless," Abby said with a smile. She'd been trying to get Jess into the menagerie for weeks and this was the perfect opportunity to help her get over her fear of the creatures. "You try," Abby held out an apple.

The few steps forward Jess had taken were taken back, "No, no, I'm good."

Abby took her arm and gently pulled her over to the mammoth. "He won't bite, I promise."

"It's not his teeth I'm worried about." Jess stared pointedly at the ivory tusks, "Those things are bigger than I am."

"He won't hurt you," Abby said coaxingly and pressed the apple into Jess' hand. "Just try." 

"But…"

"Fear is the mind killer, Jess," Abby realised what she said and closed her eyes. "I have got to stop letting Connor watch sci fi."

"Let's go get him and watch Pride and Prejudice," Jess said brightly, obviously trying to change the subject. There was a reason she wasn't known her for subtlety.

"No," Abby took her by the shoulder and pointed her in the direction of the mammoth. "Just throw the apple into the air. You can stand here if you want. He can't reach you."

Jess bit her lip, anxiously looking between Abby and the mammoth. She shut her eyes tightly and lobbed the apple into the air.

Abby laughed as the mammoth caught it, "Good throw Jess."

Jess opened one eye, "He caught it?" Disbelief coloured her voice. She opened her other eye and smiled. "He caught it."

"Yep," Abby handed her another apple. "Try throwing it with your eyes open this time. You're doing great."

"You sure?" Jess took the proffered apple.

"He won't hurt you," Abby reassured her, "He's harmless."

"Yeah harmless," Jess rolled her eyes. "That's why his tusks are this long," She stretched up on her toes, gesturing to a height above her head. She let out a startled scream as the mammoth stole the apple from her hand. Jess quickly backed away.

"That was cheeky," Abby chastised the mammoth. "No more apples for you today." She turned to Jess, "Are you alright?"

"It tickled," Jess looked up with a small smile. She laughed nervously, "I thought it would hurt but it tickled."

Abby smiled at the younger girl; she was getting the message. "See, I told you he was harmless."

Becker ran into the room, EMD raised. "What happened?" He took a defensive stance in the doorway, checking that both girls were ok.

"Relax Becker," Abby told him. "I was introducing Jess to the mammoth. He got a bit frisky."

"She screamed."

"She can hear you," Jess glared at Becker. She didn't like being treated like she was invisible.

"Sorry, are you alright?" Becker addressed her directly and lowered the EMD.

"I'm fine. He just startled me that's all."

"Is he smiling yet?" Becker smiled at her, as if proving a point.

Jess looked at him, confused then laughed as she remembered their first conversation, "Not yet, no."

"Tell me when he does," Becker turned on his heel and left, tossing a, 'See you later,' over his shoulder.

"What was all that about?" Abby gave Jess a pointed look that clearly said _spill._

Jess' cheeks turned pink, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Really?" Abby grinned, "Didn't look like nothing to me."

"Can we just… throw the apples?" Jess thought quickly and came up with an excuse; she was clearly flustered.

"Sure," Abby tossed her an apple. "And now you can tell me what that was all about."

"Abby!

#PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#

Matt ambled aimlessly through the corridors. There was nothing to do at the ARC but wait for an anomaly to open and he had never been very good at waiting. There was only so much time he could spend cooped up in his office before he went crazy.

The clack of high heels gaining on him let him know Jess was following him. "Hello Jess," he said without looking behind.

"How did you… Never mind. I was wondering if you had that report for Phillip. He's been breathing down my neck about it," Jess fell into step beside him.

"It's on my desk. I'll go grab it," He turned down another corridor.

"Thank you. You're a lifesaver," She smiled up at him. "So any big plans for the weekend?"

"Nothing concrete," Matt answered, only half lying. He couldn't tell her about the 19th century woman who was currently hiding out at his flat. "You?"

"Yeah, meeting up with some friends," Her smile grew. "I would invite you but I don't think it's your scene."

"Probably not," Matt agreed and swiped his wrist in front of the biometric lock. "Ladies first," He waved her through.

"And they say chivalry is dead."

"Just give me a minute to find it," Matt started shifting through the piles of paper on his desk, searching for the promised report.

"You know if that wasn't so messy, you wouldn't have to look so hard for everything," Jess leant against the doorframe, arms folded.

Matt looked up briefly, "You sound like my mother."

"Well, then you should have listened to her."

He found the report and handed it to her. "Here. Anything else you want to criticise?"

Jess pursed her lips, giving him a critical eye. "Learn how to use an iron?"

His lips quirked into a smile; he should have known that she would take him up on the offer. "Good bye Jess."

"Well you asked," She replied, backing into the corridor. Her back slammed into something hand and she dropped the files in surprise. She bent down to pick them up, apologising as she went, "Sorry, I should have been watching where I was going."

"It's fine," One of Becker's soldiers knelt down and helped her pick up the pieces of paper that littered the floor. "It's my animal magnetism."

"It's what?" Jess blinked at him, shocked.

"My animal magnetism. Hot birds just can't help themselves around me," He stood up and offered her a hand.

She ignored it, rising as well, "Thank you for your help."

"No problem love. Francis Merryweather." He took her hand in his and shook it. "I already know who you are Jessica." He smiled at her but it didn't seem warm, it was almost predatory.

Jess tried to free his hand but he wouldn't let go. "I've really got to…"

"Come on, you can spare 20 minutes can't you? Time will fly," He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Jess was almost squirming now. "I can't. I've really got to…"

"Jess, I thought I told you to go deliver that report," Matt walked out of his office, glaring at the both of them. Merryweather dropped her hand like it was on fire, looking at the ground. He'd heard stories about the team leader and his temper.

"Yes sir. Sorry sir," Jess scurried down the hall, casting a grateful smile back to Matt who gave a tiny nod in return.

Matt's glare hardened as he watched Merryweather's eyes follow the young field coordinator. "Shouldn't you be somewhere?"

The soldier nodded and turned on his heel, leaving without looking back.

#PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#

Becker poured himself a cup of tea, revelling in the quiet. It had been two days since he last had to save someone from a creature and it felt like a record. He'd finally managed to finish the mountain of paperwork both Lester and Burton insisted on.

The door of the break room swung open and Jess stormed in, clearly in a huff. "Why are men such tossers?" She demanded, hands on hips. "Do you go to tosser school or something?" She stood in the middle of her room, eyes lit up.

Becker stared at her. He'd never seen her like this. Scared, yes. Annoyed even but mad? Never. "Are you ok Jess?"

"No. Yes," She took a deep breath. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"It was nothing. I'm just over reacting. You know me, pleasantly crazy," She smiled brightly but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Jessica, tell me."

Jess bristled at the order, "I'm not a soldier, Captain. I don't have to do what you say."

"Why do I think you wouldn't even if you were?" Becker asked, the corners of his mouth tilting up slightly. She could be stubborn when she wanted to be and orders, especially his, seemed to never be heard.

"Because you're smarter than you look," Lester walked past the break room, obviously overhearing part of the conversation. "Meeting in my office. Now."

Jess glanced as Becker as they went through the door, "Do you know what this is about?"

"No, you?"

Jess shook her head, "I don't know."

They walked the short distance to Lester's open office and waited with the others.

"You two know what this is about?" Connor asked as they arrived.

"No," Becker answered for the both of them. "Did you do anything?"

"Why does everyone automatically blame me?" Connor asked dejectedly, "It could be someone else's screw up."

"Could be," Abby agreed and he brightened slightly. "But it's usually you so…" His shoulders slumped again.

"Remind me not to save anyone next time something tries to eat one of you," Connor muttered darkly.

"Will do," Matt smirked at him.

Lester walked in and sat in his chair behind the desk. "Wonderful, you're all here."

"Did we have a choice?" Matt asked as he leant against the glass wall. He looked like he would rather be somewhere far way.

"No, not really. I suppose you're all wondering why you're here," Lester looked up at their expectant faces. "Two words: team bonding."

"What?" Connor's jaw dropped. "You're joking, yeah?"

"Team bonding?' Becker repeated, surprised. He hadn't been expecting that one.

"Or team building, whatever you want to call it," Lester explained. 

"Why?" Abby asked, "We work pretty well together, considering."

"It's a mandatory part of Prospero Industries and since Burton half owns you, you get to spend three days camping. Together."

"Camping?" Connor repeated. "Oh kill me now," He groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Don't tempt me," Lester drawled, glaring at him. "You have 3 weeks notice so there will be no excuses. I don't care if you're dying, you're still going."

"And if there's an anomaly?" Matt enquired, straightening up, "What then?"

"There are actually other people capable of doing your jobs, you realise. The five of you are replaceable."

"Wait five?" Jess asked. She'd thought that it was just for the field operatives.

"Yes Jess, the five of you," Lester answered.

"But I don't go into the field. I'm not qualified."

"I doubt there are qualifications for going camping," Lester retorted. "That's all. Go pretend you're working."

They filed out of the room, Connor closing the door before complaining, "I hate camping."

"I love it," Becker told him.

"Figures you would, Action man," Connor rolled his eyes

Matt smirked, "Action man?"

"Don't start," Becker glowered at him, "Just don't."

"Why does it have to be camping?" Connor continued, "Why wouldn't we bond over a five star hotel or something."

Abby laid a hand on his arm, "It won't be so bad Connor. It could be fun."

"I prefer fun in my own bed," He paused and closed his eyes as he heard his words. "I did not just say that,"

"I think you did," Becker sniggered.

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant that I don't like camping!"

"Picked up on that, thanks," Matt told him and checked his watch. "I've got to go. See you later."

"Bye," Jess called after him, "Don't forget the black box."

"Yes Jess," Matt replied in a bored tone. "I've got it."

"Maybe we could boycott. Do a strike or something," Connor suggested excitedly. "That would work, wouldn't it?"

"It's Lester, Connor. He would just glare at you until you went," Abby told him.

"Yeah but," He stopped, trying to think of another reason. "Camping is horrible. Come on Jess, you agree with me, yeah?"

She shrugged. "I've never been camping. So I don't know. It could be fun." She didn't sound entirely convinced.

"I'll talk to Phillip, maybe he can do something." Connor hurried away without saying goodbye.

"Sorry. I better go make sure he doesn't step in it again," Abby followed him. "Connor, wait up!"

Becker turned to Jess, "You've never been camping?"

"Never," Jess shook her head. "I'm guessing you went heaps of times."

"Yeah," He nodded, "My Dad loved the outdoors. Yours didn't?"

"Mine had cancer. He wasn't allowed to go camping. He always said he used to though."

Becker caught the past tense. "I'm sorry. When did he die?"

She shrugged but looked down, her eyes growing moist. "Just before Christmas last year. We knew it was coming so it wasn't as though we weren't expecting it."

"Still, I'm sorry. It's horrible loosing a parent. My Dad died a couple of years ago too." Becker smiled sympathetically.

"I'm sorry for you to then," She glanced up at him and bit her lip nervously. "This is a really silly question, but what do you take camping?"

He blinked at the shift in conversation but he should have expected it from her. She went from playful to professional with one push of a button. "A tent, sleeping bag, warm clothes etc," He answered helpfully.

She nodded, mentally filling away the information. "And where do you get the tent and stuff?"

"A camping store has the best ones. Hence the name."

"And where's a good one of them?"

He sighed. She really did know nothing about camping. "I'll take you there one day."

"You don't have to. Really."

He shrugged, "It will be easier that you turning up with all the wrong stuff."

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a burden or anything."

"Jess, you are never a burden. We'll pick a day and get you everything," He smiled, "That okay with you?"

"That's brilliant. Thank you so much."

"Thank me after you get the bill."


	5. This Thing Turned Out So Evil

A/N: The only reason this is up soon is because I got stuck at a beach with nothing but a pen and paper for a few hours. The next chapter won't be up for a while I don't think but please review this chapter. It will make me happy. I'm doing Macbeth at the moment and that's just downright depressing. So make my day: please review. You don't want to make me cry do you?

Yeah and I should probably warn you that this chapter gets a little dark and angsty.

Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval. If I did Connor would not be so gullible at times and Jesker would be together.

**Chapter 5: This Thing Turned Out So Evil**

Jess walked into the empty Ops room, texting on her mobile phone. No one else was at the ARC this early in the morning and the peace allowed her to get things down without being constantly interrupted by anomalies or people. Her phone beeped with a message and she read it as she sat down. Jess laughed as she texted back; she'd needed that girls' night out with her friends. Sometimes the stress and secrecy of chasing dinosaurs got too much and she needed a reminder of what life should be about: friends and laughter.

The back of her chair tipped back, making her straighten. "Texting while at work? Tut Tut," Becker smiled down at her, his arms folded on top of her chair, the weight of them holding it back. "What would Lester say?"

"Don't let it interfere with saving your lives?" Jess replied, leaning back in her chair to look up with him. "What would he say if you broke my chair?"

"I'll tell him that the mammoth did it," Becker answered with a straight face.

Jess laughed, "I'd like to see that."

Becker stopped holding her chair down and walked around so he leant on her desk, facing her. "So what brings you in so early?"

"I didn't get to finish everything on Friday before that meeting with Lester so I wanted to get a head start. What about you? What's your excuse?"

"Training drills with the newbies. I swear some of them are going to run straight into an anomaly when they see one," Frustration crept into his tone. "If they are the best the academy is producing, I'd hate to see the worst."

"They'll get better," Jess reassured him. "They just need practice."

He snorted, "There's no practice for running around after a dinosaur Jess. They don't cover that in class."

Jess shrugged, "Maybe they should."

"And how exactly do you suggest they explain that class?" Becker demanded harshly. "Tell everyone about the anomalies?"

Jess blinked at the anger in his voice and bit her lip, "Calm down Becker. It was just an idea."

He sagged against her desk, "Sorry," he rubbed his forehand, "I shouldn't take it out on you."

"No, you shouldn't," Jess agreed, "But you have to talk to someone. Bottling things up isn't going to help anyone."

"You sound like a shrink," Becker told her with a rueful half smile.

She pulled a face, "Don't tell me that; I don't like psychologists."

"Sorry, I won't insult you again."

"It's fine," Jess waved him off as she started switching on different monitors on the ADD.

Becker felt a sudden need to be useful. He wasn't of much assistance just standing in her space. He pushed off the edge of the desk and straightened, "Would you like some tea?"

Her eyes lit up and she smiled, "That would be lovely. Thank you."

"One tea coming right up," He left the room and strode into the adjoining break room. He switched the kettle on and watched Jess work through the glass wall. That was one good thing about the glass walls, he mused; he could see everyone. He watched as her fingers flew across the keyboards, moving as fast as he did assembling a gun. He realised that they were more alike than he'd thought. The kettle whistled and he fetched two mugs from the cupboard and put the tea bags in, pouring the water in. He lifted the mugs just as Jess turned around to see where he was. He smiled at her as he walked towards her, "One cup of tea at your service."

"Thank you," She spun her chair around so she wasn't near the computers and took the mug from his hands. She took a sip and paused, "I guess Special Forces don't use milk and honey."

"I'm sorry," He went to take the mug back, "I forgot about that."

She stood up, not returning the mug to him, "I can get it Becker."

He rebuked himself for the mistake. He should have remembered her sweet tooth. "Sorry Jess, I'll remember next time." He followed her into the break room.

She opened the fridge, searching for milk. "Who says there's going to be a next time?"

"I said I was sorry!" The indignant reply was followed by her small giggle. "Oh, I see. You're teasing me. Again."

She nodded, turning around with a smile on her face, "Yep."

He chuckled, "Should have known."

"Yep," She nodded again, pouring the milk in.

"Here," Becker reached up her over head and picked the honey jar off the top shelf.

Jess froze; he was so close she could feel his body heat on her back. "Thanks," she fought to keep her cheeks from turning red. He didn't notice how close he'd gotten and just handed her the jar.

"Don't know why people put it up there out of reach," He commented absently, drinking his own tea.

"It's not out of reach," Jess replied, placing a couple of teaspoons of honey in her.

Becker frowned at the amount of honey she'd added, "Does that even taste like tea anymore?"

"Yes," She replied indignantly.

He swiped it off the bench and too a sip, ignoring her protests. "I should have guessed," He handed it back to her. "That is way too sweet."

"I like it like that."

"I know." He looked at the clock, "I'd better go. My men will be arriving soon. We're practicing hand to hand"

"Ok," She smiled at him, "Don't hurt yourself." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"You should be worried about me hurting them," He replied, mock cockily.

"You won't hurt them; you protect them. That's your job."

"So I'd better go do it," He smiled at her once more then left.

"See you later," she called to his retreating form and turned to fetch a paper towel to clean up the small mess they'd made on the counter.

"Now there's a sight I could get used to every morning,"

Jess whirled around to see Merryweather leaning against the doorframe. "What are you doing here? All of the soldiers are supposed to be at…"

"Shhh, it's ok love," He walked towards her, a predatory smirk on his face. "I just needed a coffee before Major Drill Sergeant tries to kill me with training."

"Oh. Um, I'll just be going then," Jess tried to pass him but he grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"Don't go so soon. I'll start to think that you don't like me," He smiled in a way she was supposed to find attractive.

She found it repulsive. Whatever gave you that idea, she thought sarcastically. "I really have to go get to work."

"Your boss isn't here to interrupt us this time," He ran a finger up her arm. "You don't have to go."

"But I want to go," She pulled out of his grasp, almost stumbling at the release.

His eyes flashed angrily. "So you're one of those girls are you? Dresses like a slut then doesn't finish the show? Dressed like that," He gestured to her short red dress, "you can't expect men not to react."

"I …" Words failed her. Her heart was beating so fast she thought the ADD could pick it up. She started backing out of the room but his arm snaked out and grabbed hers before she could take two steps. She dropped her tea in shock, the brown liquid pooling on the floor.

"Why do you tease so much if you're not gonna follow through?" He pulled her roughly to him, pressing his body into hers. "You know you're gonna like it."

"No," She struggled against him in vain. "I won't. Let me go!" Her voice rose in both pitch and volume.

"Or what? Gonna tease me more?" He asked mockingly, his arms wrapping around her small frame and wandering low. "No one else is here."

"Let me go!"

He pressed his mouth to hers, assaulting her lips and silencing her. Jess froze. Then her survival instincts kicked in. She bit his tongue, hard, and drew blood. He pulled away, but kept a firm grip around her waist. "Bitch," He snarled, his free arm twisting hers painfully. "It's always girls like you who need to learn their place."

She cried out in pain, "Please don't."

"Let her go," Matt walked into the break room, EMD raised.

Jess sobbed in relief. She was safe now. "Matt…"

"I said let her go," He cocked his head at Merryweather. "You deaf as well as sadistic?"

Merryweather pushed Jess away roughly, causing her to fall to the ground, "No. But you can't touch me."

Matt ignored him, focusing on Jess, "You okay?"

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

He turned back to Merryweather, "I'd start packing if I was you. You'll be lucky to get out of here with your limbs attached when people find out what you did."

Merryweather laughed at him. "Do you have any idea who I am? Who my uncle is? My uncle is the Minister. You can't touch me. No one would believe her against me." He strutted out of the break room, head held high.

"We'll see about that," Matt muttered darkly as he bent down and helped Jess up. "Come on, let's get out of here."

She clung onto his arm, still not speaking, and he could feel her shaking violently. _Shock_, he realised quickly. He led her down the still empty corridor to his office and sat her down gently on his lounge. He used his leg to slam the door shut as Jess wasn't letting go of his arm any time soon. She jumped noticeably at the loud noise. "Hey, shush, it's ok. He can't hurt you any more," He sat down next to her and pulled her into an awkward hug. He had never been any good with sympathy or empathy. "It's ok, you're ok," he repeated soothingly.

Jess broke down into tears, burying her head into his chest. She couldn't believe what had just happened.

"It's ok," Matt kept repeating, his hand rubbing small circles on her back, "you're ok."

Eventually, her sobs subsided and she looked up at him, eyes puffy and red. "Sorry,"

"You have nothing to apologise for," Matt told her, a little too sternly. "It's not your fault."

"But if I -"

He cut her off, "Not. Your. Fault." He enunciated every word, hoping it would sink in. Guilt was the last thing she needed. "I'm just going to call Lester," He went to get up but she shook her head frantically.

"No, please."

"Jess, I can't let him get away with that."

"Do you have any idea how these things turn out? His uncle is the freaking Minister!" Jess stood up, her tone almost hysterical.

"Jess, calm down. Lester will-"

"Not even Lester can do anything about him," Jess said angrily. "Even if he can, it won't stop people talking. They already think that I slept my way into the ARC."

"Who said that?"

"Just… people," Jess shook her head as if she couldn't think straight. "Matt, please…" She begged, tears falling freely again. "If no one trusts me, how can I do my job?"

He sighed. He couldn't do anything if she didn't want to. "I won't say anything to Lester."

"Thank you." She breathed deeply, trying to hold back the tears.

"Yet," he added, looking up at her closely. "He deserves to be punished, Jess."

"I know that but…." She trailed off. She could barely think and her hands wouldn't stop shaking. She started crying again; it was like she had no control over anything.

He stood up and wrapped his arms loosely around her. "It will be ok. I won't let him hurt you again. Trust me on that."

She nodded into his chest then pulled away, wiping at her eyes. "I have to go back. Lester will want…"

"Lester can wait. You're in no condition to do anything. And don't lie to me Jess," He added upon her opening her mouth. He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her, "You're in shock. The only place you're going his home." The finality of his tone allowed for no discussion.

PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#

Jess closed the door to her flat and locked before leaning against it and sliding down to the floor. "How did this happen?" She banged her head against the door. "Ow," She hadn't meant to hit it so hard. She slipped out of Matt jacket and threw it haphazardly at the coat hangers. It missed and landed on the floor. She glared at it, leant over picked it up. "Why can't anything go right?" She screamed at threw it across the room.

Her eyes widened as she realised what she'd done. She wasn't like this. She wasn't a person prone to violent outbursts like that. She was Jess. She was happy and bubbly. She wasn't angry or violent. That wasn't her. Tears started flowing and she brushed at them angrily. Incessant crying wasn't her either. She hadn't cried this much since her father's funeral. This wasn't her. This wasn't how it was supposed to turn out. She stood up, a little unsteadily and walked into her bedroom. The brightly coloured room jarred her mind and she threw herself onto her bed. If she was going to block out the world for the rest of the day, she would do it curled up under her doona.

PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#

Hours later, a knock roused her from her semi sleep. True sleep had eluded her all day.

"It's Abby," Abby said from the other side of the door. "Are you awake?"

_I am now. _"Yeah," Jess replied, poking her head out from under the bright red doona.

Abby opened the door, "How are you feeling? Matt said you were sick."

Jess offered a weak smile at Matt's poor excuse. For someone who was so elusive with answers, he was horrible at cover ups. "A little better. Any anomalies today?" She would be furious with herself if there was.

Abby shook her head, "Nothing. A totally boring day."

"That's good. I would have hated to miss anything important," She tried to act normal.

A pair of rowdy laughs echoed in the kitchen. "Oh I forgot to tell you. Becker came for dinner. You don't mind do you?"

Hosting a dinner party was the last thing she felt like doing at the moment, especially with Becker there but she couldn't say anything. "That's fine," She answered softly. "I think I'll just stay here. I couldn't stomach anything."

Abby clucked sympathetically, "Poor thing. Do you want me to get anything?"

Jess shook her head, "No."

Connor walked in, loudly knocking on the door. "Hey Jess. Feeling better?" He continued without letting her answer. "We ordered Chinese, that's your favourite right? And chocolate, you like chocolate, yeah?"

Jess stared at him. It was sweet that he cared but the mention of food made her stomach rebel.

"Leave her alone Connor. I'm sure the last thing she wants is you nagging her," Becker pulled Connor out of the room. She felt a surge of gratitude towards the Captain; he had almost read her mind.

"Sorry about him," Abby turned back to Jess, shaking her head. "I try to keep him on a leash but he escapes from time to time."

Jess laughed weakly at the small joke. At least some things never changed.

Abby stood up, "Feel better, yeah?"

Jess nodded as the older girl left, casting a sympathetic smile over her shoulder. Jess' face fell as the door closed. She could still hear the laughter in the other room. She rolled over and pressed a pillow over her ears. She didn't want to hear people being happy. Not when she felt so miserable.

A/N: Don't kill me. I know it's dark but it will be happier again. Soonish. Please review and tell me what you thought.


	6. Watch Me Burn

A/N: Wow, some of you really don't like Merryweather and I don't blame you. Don't worry he'll be dealt with in the end. Thank you for all the reviews. It's ridiculous how happy they make me. So please, make me happy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Literally.

**Chapter 6: Watch Me Burn**

Jess woke with a start, heart leaping out of her chest. She clasped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She didn't want to wake Abby and Connor; they had enough to deal with.

"Just a dream," She told herself, trying to calm herself. "Just a dream. He's not here." She reached under her pillow for her I-phone and read off its screen. _1:48, wonderful, _she thought sarcastically.

She tossed the doona off and stood up, stretching. Her back still hurt from where she'd hit the floor the day before. Rolling out the kink, she gingerly opened the door, praying that it didn't wake anyone in the silent flat. There was no noise; everyone was asleep. _Lucky them_, she thought jealously. She wouldn't be sleeping after that nightmare. She walked through the dark flat, trying not to look at the shadows her imagination loved to play with. Jess walked into the kitchen, whimsically deciding to eat something. She opened the fridge, peering to see if there was anything edible left.

"If you're looking for leftovers there aren't any. Sorry," A familiar voice spoke up from behind her, making her jump and collide with the fridge door. "Jess, it's me," Becker reached out a hand to steady her but she shrugged it off. "It's alright."

"Becker?"

"Yeah," He answered and she could dimly see him run a hand through sleep tossed hair.  
Sorry about startling you."

Jess let out a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding. "It's fine," She relaxed slightly, knowing that he would never hurt her. Then her brow creased, "What are you doing here?"

"Abby said I could crash on the couch. She didn't want me driving tired," He explained with a nonchalant shrug. "You don't mind do you?"

She was really beginning to hate that question: it usually meant she had no choice. "Of course I don't mind. I've crashed on your couch before."

"Yours is more comfy," She could make out a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "Want me to get the lights?" He offered, realising how strange it was they were standing in the dark.

She nodded and turned to close the fridge. The overhead lights flickered on and as Jess turned back to face Becker she realised he was shirtless. On any other day she would have done a happy dance at the thought of Becker shirtless in her kitchen. But not today.

He casted her an amuse glance, smirking slightly.

"What?" She asked defensively, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I thought you would be a Tweetie Pie kind of girl," His smirk broadened into a smile as he nodded towards her bright blue flannelette pyjamas.

"Oh," She glanced down and shifted, embarrassed.

"Feeling any better?" He dropped onto a stool by the kitchen counter, resting his chin on his hand.

"Why?" She fidgeted with the kitchen counter's edge, "Did Matt say something?" She glanced up, anxiously praying that the team leader hadn't said anything.

Becker shook his head, "Just that you were so sick he had to drive you home. You really should take better care of yourself Jess."

"You think I don't know that?" She snapped more harshly than she intended. "Sorry," She added, wincing slightly. She didn't mean to be so volatile.

"It's fine," Becker replied.

"Did you want anything? Water, tea?"

He shook his head. "No. Why are you up anyway? It's 2 am."

"Hungry," She answered, only half lying. "Except there's no food in the house. Connor eats more that we shop for."

"I thought you were the queen of shopping," Becker smiled, "So he must eat a hell of a lot."

"I'm not vapid, Becker. Shopping isn't my entire life."

Taken aback at her vehement words, he apologised. "Sorry, I know that Jess. You're much more than that." He looked at her closely. Something was wrong. He may be emotionally retarded but he could tell that much. "Are you ok? You seem a little…" He trailed off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

She shrugged and walked over to the pantry, rummaging through it. "You know how it is. Bad day and all. Nothing major," She lied, carefully keeping her voice chipper.

"Right," he said disbelievingly. Jess was never this evasive; normally he could read her better than he did a book. But not today. She started getting ingredients out of the pantry, "What are you doing?"

"Baking," She replied as if it were obvious.

"At 2 am?"

"I'm hungry," She shrugged off his disbelief. "And there's nothing to eat. You can help. If you want to," She added, a little uncertain. For some reason she didn't want to be alone.

"No, I can't cook, remember?" He told her with a self deprecating chuckle. "I'll watch. Maybe I'll learn something."

"They're muffins; it's not that hard," Jess told him as she grabbed milk from the fridge. She pushed an egg carton and a bowl at him. "Here, you crack 2 of them."

He obeyed, cleanly cracking the eggs into the bowl.

"See, you can cook," She smiled.

"Jess, that was breaking an egg. I'm brilliant at breaking things. Just ask Matt or Connor."

She laughed for the first time, "I'll do that."

He smiled at her laugh; she needed to do that more often. He looked on as she mixed the ingredients without pausing to measure them out properly, "How do you do that?"

"Practice. I always make blueberry muffins when I can't sleep. I think I can make them in my sleep now. Here," she slid the mixing bowl across the counter to him. "Mix this. We'll make a chef out of you yet."

He started mixing, watching her closely as she began cleaning up. There was something stiff about the way she moved. _Like she was hurt_, Becker thought then shook his head, _she would tell me if she was hurt_. "Will you be in tomorrow… today?"

Jess paused then nodded, "Yeah." She felt better now. Like she had some normality back.

"Good. I would hate to have an anomaly alert without you having my back."

"You managed before me," She said, spooning out the muffin mixture into the holes of the baking tray.

"Barely. I was so unorganised I'm surprised more people didn't die."

She sighed. Was he still feeling guilty? "Well you didn't," Jess said shortly, her sympathy all taken by self pity. She knew it was rude but at that moment, she didn't care.

"We could've," He pressed, a little surprised at her. She was the one who always listened to stories of the old team and his guilt with empathy. She was more helpful than the psychologist Lester had forced on him.

"But you didn't. You have to-" She was cut off by the shrill ring of the house phone. She ran to answer it, knowing who was on the other end. "Hey Matt," She answered, "Is there an anomaly?"

"Yeah," The Irishman answered tiredly. "I'll be at your place in 5 to pick you up. I have to go the ARC to get some things. The ARC's sent the coordinates to Abby and Connor. So if you can just get them up…"

"I will. See you in five. And don't speed," She added sternly, remembering his driving style.

"Yes Jess," He said and hung up.

"Anomaly?" Becker checked.

"Yes," Jess nodded. "I'll go wake up Abby. She can get Connor. The coordinates should be on your phone."

"Thanks," He bent down and picked up his shirt from the couch. "Matt say how far away it was?"

"No," Jess answered as she went down the hall and knocked on the door on the right. "Abby, there's an anomaly. You have to go." She opened the door and flicked the light on.

Abby groaned and rolled over, using her hands to shield her eyes, "Why do they always happen at the worst times?"

"I don't know. Can you wake Connor? I have to get ready. Matt's taking me back to the ARC. You, Becker and Connor are going straight to the anomaly. The coordinates are in your phone," Jess hurried out of the room, not pausing for an answer.

Abby rolled out of bed and padded into the next room, offering Becker a sleepy wave as she saw him standing awkwardly in the lounge room. She opened the door to Connor's room without knocking, "Get up Connor," Abby told him sternly. He mumbled in his sleep but didn't stir. "I said get up!" She picked up the corner of the mattress and lifted it so Connor fell off the bed with an undignified scream.

In the lounge room, Becker frowned at the scream. "What was that?" He asked Jess as she ran past him, pulling a blood red jumper over her head.

"Abby waking up Connor," She replied as she searched the room for something.

"What are you looking for?"

"My red shoes," She answered as she bent down to look under the couch, unknowing giving him a perfect view of her jean clad rear end.

He looked away pointedly, "Is that them over there?" He gestured to near the front door.

Jess looked up hopefully then frowned at the shoes he'd pointed out, "They're pink."

"It's all the same isn't it?" He'd never understood the need for people to colour coordinate everything. It was too much trouble for him to bother with.

'It's not the same!" She said, frustrated. She bit her lip, pouting slightly. Her eyes lit up as she remembered where she'd left them. "I know where they are," She cried, more happily that Becker had expected her to. There was a knock at the door. "Can you get that?" Jess yelled from her room, "It's Matt."

"Yeah," Becker ambled over and opened the door, smirking at the bewildered look on his boss' face.

"Becker," Matt greeted and stepped inside.

"Matt," Becker replied. "Jess lost her red shoes. She'll be out in a – "

"Now," Jess walked into the room, not missing the calculating look Matt gave her. "Let's go."

"See ya Becker," Matt walked out the door.

"Bye," Jess gave a little wave and darted after Matt, leaving Becker staring at the empty doorway. He didn't miss the look Matt had given her either; something really was going on with her and he was determined to figure it out.

PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL# PRIMEVAL

Matt gave her a long sidelong look as they drove to the ARC. "You really should keep your eyes on the road, you know," Jess said, a little of put by the intensity.

He turned back to the road, keeping one eye on her through the review mirror. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Jess said strongly, defensiveness rising. "Getting a little sick of that question though."

"Jess, you were attacked. You're not ok," Matt told her, "That's normal but I have to know you can do this."

"It's my job; I'm pretty good at it." She didn't see where this was going. _Is he doubting me because of what happened?_

"Because you can't afford to be distracted by anything Jess," Matt explained like a patient teacher. "We depend on you."

"You think I don't know that?"

He didn't jump at her aggressive tone. He'd expected that. Jess hated anyone thinking that she was less than capable. "I know you know, I'm just saying that if you need some time to deal with it –"

"Hiding under a doona replaying it over and over in my mind won't help me. I have to work. It's the only thing I can do."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Matt smiled at her. "You're stronger than you think you are."

"Thanks I think," She frowned slightly at the compliment.

"If you want to," He said slowly. "We could always throw Merryweather through an anomaly. No one would ever know. His uncle wouldn't be able to do anything for him in the Jurassic."

"Matt, no," She glared at him. "No one deserves that. Not even him," She folded her arms subconsciously defending herself.

"Just an idea," He said as he pulled into the ARC's perimeter security. "Remind me to tell Becker to fix up security here. They're taking too long to get here. We could've walked through the checkpoint by now."

"Remind Becker to do his job better, check." Jess replied, smiling slightly. She could see that not ending well. "Please just don't shoot him again."

"Why? You could play nurse?" He smirked as the guard checked their IDs. Jess didn't say anything, just looked out the window. "Sorry," He apologised, "That was uncalled for. You don't need that right now."

"No," Jess shook her head. That was the last thing on her mind.

Matt parked in his car park and they got out. "Cheer up, Princess," He said as they walked into the lobby. "You don't have to tell Lester that you disobeyed a direct order."

"What did you do?" Jess' eyes narrowed. It would have to be serious if Matt was confessing to it willingly.

They walked into the elevator and he keyed in the Opps floor. "You know that woman that went through the anomaly at the theatre?" He asked then continued at her nod. "Well she's a lost time traveller from the 1800s whose been crashing on my couch while we look for her psychotic companion. And I lost her a couple of days ago."

"Lester's going to eat you," Jess told him, eyes wide.

He nodded as the elevator doors opened, "I know."

**A/N: Thanks to Scot free for the anomaly body dumping idea. **

**Again, please review. Pretty please. It makes me write faster, honestly. **


	7. Lay it All Out like a Weather Map

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. It's ridiculous how happy they make me. One of the anonymous review (hi by the way) asked what a doona was. A doona's another word for a quilt/thick blanket. My cousin mistakenly told me it's what they're called in England. He was wrong and has since been pushed through an anomaly. Just joking… maybe. Anyway, this is a long chapter so please please review. I beg you.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, Cutter would still be calling Jenny Claudia and Becker would be rolling his eyes at Danny. I seriously miss that guy after the finale. Whoops. Spoilers. Oh well. Sorry about that.

**Chapter 7: Lay It All Out Like A Weather Map**

Lester sat down heavily on his chair and ran a hand through his hair, "Why am I cursed with Mavericks?"

Matt opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it. He'd just described how he'd harboured Emily and how she'd disappeared. Lester wasn't taking the news so well.

"I thought Cutter was bad. Quinn was a nightmare at times. And now I have you," Lester fixed with a death glare. "Do you all fell some perverse sense of pleasure at making me suffer?"

"No, I was trying to help," Matt explained defensively and pushed off the wall he was leaning on so he stood tall.

"Help?" Lester repeated disbelievingly. "How does hiding a time traveller help anyone?"

"She doesn't deserve to be locked up like an animal."

"You've taken to her, I see." Lester didn't make it a question. He could read people well, even the enigmatic man standing before him at times.

"I can sympathise," Matt corrected, folding his arms. "It can't be easy being so far from what she knows."

Lester sighed, "I swear this job is going to age me twenty years."

Matt bit back the sarcastic comment that was on the tip of his tongue. He'd worked to hard to get this job to jeopardise it with a careless comment.

"Where did you last see this woman?" Lester asked, obviously still angry with Matt.

"Her name is Emily," he supplied before adding, "Two days ago."

"Two days?" Lester asked, outraged. He stood up. "Do you realise how far she could've gotten in two days? She could be in China for all we know."

"She won't be."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Because Ethan too her," Matt said simply and waited for Lester's tirade to reignite.

"So you're girlfriend got abducted? That's your story now?" Lester asked, his tone almost sardonic.

"Emily's not my girlfriend but yes, that's what I believed happened," Matt stood tall, his face impassive as Lester inspected it for any trace of insincerity.

Lester was silent for a moment, glaring furiously then relented. "What evidence is there to support that theory?"

"She was scared of him, really scared," Matt explained quickly, knowing how Lester would take it.

"She was scared?" Lester repeated. "That's what you're basing your theory on? God, I've hired an idiot," He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes as if that would remove the trouble Matt had caused.

"There was no other reason for her to leave," Matt elaborated on his reasoning.

"She couldn't possibly have gotten sick of your company," the sardonic man said mockingly.

Matt's eyes narrowed angrily. If he wasn't going to take this seriously… He was interrupted by Jess knocking and opening the door.

"Not now Jess," Lester snapped furiously, making the young woman jump coltishly.

"It's alright, Jess," Matt told her soothingly. He really hated seeing that expression of fear on her face; it was becoming all too common.

"Alright?" Lester exploded. "It's not bloody alright. I have two time travelling, anomaly hopping people God knows where and a team leader who appears to have forgotten his team!"

"I'm sorry," Jess said nervously. "It's just that they really need Matt at the anomaly. A creature's come through and they need to track it through a forest."

"Isn't that what Abby's for?" Lester asked, shaking his head as if it were obvious.

"There's a school group camping 8km away from the anomaly site," Jess explained quickly, knowing that Lester would comprehend the need for haste. Saving lives came before all else.

"Fine," Lester agreed reluctantly. "Go. But do not breathe a word of this to anyone. Especially Burton."

Matt nodded and followed Jess out the door. He nearly ran into her as she stopped and turned around. She handed him his earpiece and blackbox with a small smile. "Thanks, you really do think of everything don't you?"

"That's my job," She replied lightly, walking back to her station. "You might want to hurry. Lester looks like he's going to explode," She said, casting a look over her shoulder.

Matt turned to see Lester standing up, surveying the Opps room with a passive face that could rival his own. "See ya Jess," He walked out before Lester turned towards him.

"Bye." He heard her voice through the earpiece this time. "Okay guys," She said, addressing the team. "Matt's on his way. ETA 4O minutes."

"What's the situation, Becker?" Matt asked as he jogged down the corridor to the stairs.

"A rouge triceratops with anger management problems," Becker replied tautly. He sounded stressed and strained for breathe.

"So basically Lester on a bad day," Matt quipped as he got into the elevator. He heard Jess and someone else on the comm. system stifle a laugh.

"Not quite that bad," Connor replied. "But close. More like Becker."

"Be glad you're on the other side of the forest, Temple," Becker growled.

"Now now, Boys, play nice," Jess chided them like they were children. "You've got a job to do."

PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL.

Matt pulled up amidst the trees, tires of the 4WD squealing in protest. He grabbed the EMD from the passenger seat and jumped out, "What do we have?" He asked the soldier waiting for him. The soldier turned around and Matt mentally cursed. It was Merryweather.

Merryweather smirked at him, "Fancy seeing you here sir. No whiney girlfriend to take care of?"

Matt ignored the jibe, "Jess," He spoke into his earpiece. "Where's Becker?"

"Two hundred meters east of your position. There should be someone waiting for you there." He could almost here her frowning at the screen.

"There is," Matt answered, avoiding mentioning who it was. "I just wanna talk to Becker." He took off in the direction Jess had told him.

Abby and Becker looked up as Matt approached with Merryweather following him closely. "Took you long enough," Becker said dryly.

"Bad traffic," Matt replied in the same tone. "You found anything?"

"Two sets of tracks," Abby answered. "Can't tell if it's two creatures or one doubling back on itself. Connor's still at the anomaly site and says no others have come through."

"Right. We split up then," Becker declared, taking charge. "Abby you take Merryweather and take the left tracks. Matt and I'll take the right."

"No," Matt interrupted, overriding Becker's orders. He didn't want Merryweather anywhere near Abby if he could help it. Not after what he did to Jess. "Merryweather's with me. Abby's more likely to talk you out of shooting it." He came up with the excuse on the spot and knew it was weak.

Becker gave him a strange look before rolling his eyes. He was used to Matt's erratic behaviour. "Come on Abby," He started following the tracks, careful not to disturb them.

Abby gave Matt a piercing look, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Matt lied, "Just don't want Becker shooting up everything he sees. He listens to you more than he does to me."

"Right," Abby said disbelievingly before following Becker. As soon as she'd caught up to him, they both took off at a steady jog.

Merryweather clapped Matt on the shoulder, "Looks like it's just you and me mate. Shall we compare notes? I mean I didn't get a good feel but you-"

Matt grabbed him by the neck and threw up against a tall pine tree. "You. Shut. Your. Mouth."

"Matt?" Jess's voice sounded in his ear. "What's going on?"

Matt reached up and removed his earpiece, glowering at Merryweather. "You're uncle might protect you in the city but out here, you're just another animal."

"You can't touch me. You'll be fired."

Matt faltered slightly but saw the bravado in Merryweather's eyes flicker. Matt smirked, "Maybe. Not if they can't find a body. Who knows what could happen to someone who gets taken by a triceratops. That horn of theirs looks pretty pointy to me."

"Let go of me!" Merryweather screamed, loosing all sense of bravery.

"Why? You didn't show any mercy to her?" Matt tightened his grip, adrenalin coursing through his veins.

Suddenly someone ripped him off Merryweather, "What the hell is going on here? Jess said she lost contact with you." Becker demanded, still holding Matt back.

"Get off me," Matt pulled away. "We had a disagreement."

"Looks like it," Abby commented, seeing the red marks on Merryweather's neck.

"He attacked me," Merryweather wheezed, pointing an accusing finger at Matt.

"He hit me first," Matt lied, thinking quickly on his feet. This was an opportunity to get rid of Merryweather without Jess having to say anything. "I lost my earpiece and fought back."

"You lying son of a bitch!" Merryweather shouted, lunging for him. "That's a lie." Abby caught his arms and pulled him so he lost his balance, landing on the ground.

"We'll sort this out later," Becker shook his head at them. He didn't know who to believe. "We'll stick together for now. Those tracks lead back here anyway. Merryweather, you're point. Anderson, rear." He ordered, pointing to the respective men.

Matt slipped his earpiece back on, "Jess? I'm fine." He said as soon as he heard the connection establish.

"What happened?" She asked. He could tell from her slightly disapproving tone that she'd guessed correctly. A loud roar filled the air, making everyone turn to look for the source.

"I'll fill you in later," Matt said, spotting movement in the trees ahead.

"Okay," She agreed quickly. "Do you want any back up?"

"That would be good Jess, thanks," Becker said appreciatively.

Abby charged her EMD, "How big do you think it is?"

"Too damn big," Merryweather said, raising his EMD. "I don't see why we have to use toy guns."

Matt ignored the comment, creeping slowly towards the bleating triceratops. As soon as he was in range, he fired and the huge creature convulsed and fell to the ground.

"What were you saying about me getting trigger happy?" Becker asked him as he cautiously approached the unconscious creature.

Matt ignored him, "The triceratops is down for the count Jess. Can you get us a moving truck down here? We need to get it back to the anomaly."

"Sure. Just give me a minute," There was a paused as she typed rapidly into her computer. "It's on its way. ETA twenty minutes." There was another pause. "Matt, Lester wants you back now," Jess said slowly.

Merryweather smirked, "That man is psychic."

Matt ignored him again, "Thanks Jess. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Try not to beat up one of my men on your way back. They haven't done anything to you."

Matt walked away, holding back what he was going to say. If Becker knew what Merryweather had done to Jess…

PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL

Matt walked into Lester's office without knocking and sat down, waiting for the incoming lecture. There was none. Lester simply looked at him. It was unnerving. He'd been expecting more anger, not this placid attitude. "Aren't you going to yell at me?"

"Didn't seem to work before," Lester shrugged. "So why waste my voice." He stopped for a moment, "Just answer me this, what give you the right to attack a member of the ARC."

Matt looked out the window to the Opps room. He could see Jess's head over the top of her chair. He sighed; he had to make a decision and he was sure she wasn't going to like the outcome. Merryweather was too much of a loose cannon for it to be safe for anyone. "He gave up all rights when he attacked a member of the ARC," Matt said finally. Sorry Jess, he thought apologetically. It's for your own good.

Lester followed his gaze to the young FC, "I assume Jess wasn't sick yesterday."

Matt shook his head, "No."

"Is she…" He paused. "Is she ok?" Contrary to his public image, he did genuinely care about his team. Probably more than he should have.

"I walked in before he got too far. She's got a few bruises but it's more shock that anything else."

"Good," Lester nodded, relieved. Then a sudden thought hit him, "Why didn't she report him?"

"His uncle's the Minister; he basically threatened her. And apparently other people have been making comments about her."

Lester sighed, closing his eyes. Even when chasing dinosaurs for a living, people still found time to gossip. "Leave it with me,'' He said after a slight pause. "I'll sort it out," Lester looked through the glass into the Opps room where Jess was talking to a staff member. "Perhaps it would be good for Jess to go home. She shouldn't be here when this goes down."

"I'll go tell her," Matt stood up.

"Just, don't make it obvious," Lester told him.

"Of course," Matt replied and walked to the door.

"Matt," Lester called him back. "Next time something like this happens, tell me."

Matt nodded and walked away, headed to Jess. Lester watched, face impassive, as he leant down and spoke to her. He watched as he led her out of the room, not missing the fact that she flinched when Matt accidently brushed her arm. Merryweather was going to pay for that. Lester picked up his phone and hit speed dial, "Hello Minister," he greeted coolly. "Are you aware that your nephew is an abusive, skirt chasing tosser?"

PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL

Becker stood to attention in front of Lester's mahogany desk, trying to work out why Lester was so furious with him. Becker hadn't killed the creature and no one had been injured, except for Anderson and Merryweather but he wasn't counting them.

Lester sat behind his desk, hands poised under his chin, blue eyes watching Becker practically squirming before him. "Anything," Lester drawled slowly, "You want to tell me about your men?"

"My men?" Becker repeated, confused. "I don't understand."

"Your men," Lester clarified, still speaking slowly as though to a small child. "Are there any issues you want to address? Disciplinary matters, perhaps."

"Apart from Matt, no sir." It was no secret that the soldier and his boss had minor disagreements from time to time.

"I've already spoken to Matt about it. I wanted to hear your side of the story," Lester glared up at him eyes hardening.

Becker held back a recoil. Lester had never looked at him with such disappointment. "My side of the story? I don't know what you're talking about?"

"I'm talking about," Lester stood up, hands on his desks, the picture of passive aggressive behaviour. "You letting your men run around like animals, attacking members of this facility."

"What?" Becker asked, dumbstruck. Why hadn't he heard about this?

"Merryweather," Lester said, sneering at the name. "Apparently never learnt that no means no. Matt was trying to teach when you intervened. You really should have paid more attention to what was going on. Someone like that should never have even been allowed in the building."

Becker didn't know what to say, what to think. "What did he do?"

"That's not up for discussion," Lester snapped, the sudden tone change almost startling the soldier out of his thoughts. "What I want to know is how it happened. I want a complete review of employment procedures for military personnel."

Becker nodded; that was reasonable, considering. He dreaded the thought of all the paperwork. Maybe he could bribe Jess to help him… He brightened at the thought. Chocolate would work, wouldn't it? "Yes sir. I'll get right on it." He turned to leave.

"No just yet," Lester called him back. "I want you to escort Merryweather from the building and remove all weapons from his person. No need to be gentle."

"Yes sir," He nodded again, concern growing. Whatever Merryweather did was enough to severely infuriate Lester.

"Don't be afraid to let the door kick him on the arse on the way out, will you?" He was practically instructing Becker to hit him now.

"No sir," Becker left, questions running through his mind. _What the hell did Merryweather do?_

PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL

Abby leant against the doorway of Connor's lab, "Come on Connor, I'm hungry," She whined, watching him potter mindlessly around the lab. She was sure what he was doing made sense- to him anyway- but she was too hungry to care. "I've been running around a forest all day. I need to eat."

"I'll just be a minute," Connor replied, frantically scribbling down a new note on a random piece of paper.

"That means you'll be an hour," She slid down the door frame, ending up sitting on the ground. She might as well be comfortable as she waited.

"Does not," Connor retorted as he gathered up different pieces of equipment to lock up safely for the night. Some things were too dangerous to be left out alone at night.

"Does too," Abby retorted, glaring up at him. "Last time you said you'd be a minute was when you decided to reprogram the anomaly locker."

"Well I couldn't exactly leave that unfinished now, could I?" Connor asked rhetorically. "Lester would have my head if I did."

"I'll eat your head if you don't hurry up," Abby growled at him, her stomach joining in.

He gulped at the threat. He knew her temper frayed when she was hungry. He ran to the cupboard and threw in the last of the equipment haphazardly. "See, I told you I'd only be a minute," He smiled and held out a hand to help her up.

"That's a first," She said, taking his hand and pulling herself up. "You're never on ti-"

She was cut off by a sudden yell. "You can't do this to me! Don't touch me!"

Both of them ran to the source of the noise, curiosity getting the better of them. They rounded the corner to see Merryweather standing in the middle of a corridor yelling at Becker. "Do you have any idea who my uncle is? You'll be the one fired then, you'll see."

"He got fired?" Connor asked, "Didn't think anyone could get fired here."

"He deserved it," Abby told him, looking scornfully at the red faced soldier. "He's a right tosser," She crossed her arms and glared at Merryweather who was too busy to notice as he was staring at Becker.

Becker did notice though. He heard what she'd said and his eyes widened. _Not Abby_, he thought disbelievingly. Anger coursed through his veins. She was like a sister to him. He grabbed Merryweather by the arm and forced to to walk.

"Ow. You're hurting me. Let go," Merryweather tried to wriggle out of Becker's iron grip but failed.

"That's the general idea," Becker told him tightly, pulling him along. "Hurry up." He nodded to Abby as they passed her and Connor. "It's ok," he told her under his breath.

She frowned at him, confusion etched on her face.

Connor watched as Becker basically threw Merryweather into the elevator. "What's ok?"

"I have no idea."

PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#

Abby inhaled the fragrant air as soon as she walked into the flat, "Jess, I love you." She tossed her jacked onto the couch. "What did you make? It smells amazing."

"Spaghetti Marina," Jess replied from the kitchen, stirring a pot of simmering pasta and sauce. "Why are you guys so late?"

"Connor decided he had some things to do," Abby rolled her eyes as she walked in to the small kitchen attached to the lounge room. She gestured to the pot, "Can I?"

"Sure," Jess handed her a spoon from a drawer. "Tell me what you think."

Abby poked the spoon in and licked it, "Mmm," she sighed. "That is so good. You're gonna have to teach me how to make it."

"Okay," Jess agreed happily. "Wasn't sure if you were going to like it or not."

"Right now, I could eat a horse but that is so much better."

"That's good," Jess smiled. "Not about you wanting to eat a horse. That's bad," She added, rambling slightly. "Sorry. Long day."

Abby smiled at the younger girl. "It's fine. I know what you mean."

Jess frowned suddenly and looked around, "Where's Connor?"

"Coming," Abby said. "He thought he heard a noise in the car engine," she added in explanation.

"Nothing bad I hope," Jess said, pulling out three bowls from the cupboard behind her.

"No, just the fanbelt. I didn't tell him that though," Abby smirked evilly and Jess looked at her curiously. "He doesn't know that much about cars and made me wait for him so this is my revenge. I'll tell him eventually. Maybe tomorrow."

"Remind me not to make you angry," Jess said and handed her a bowl, "Enjoy."

"Oh I will," She walked over to the window overlooking the street below. "Connor," Abby yelled, "Dinner's ready."

"Coming!" Came the distracted the reply. It was followed by an, "Ow. That hurt."

Abby and Jess chuckled as they sat down at the table. "Only Connor," Abby smiled fondly. "Oh, did you hear about Merryweather?"

Jess froze. She'd thought she'd been good today, that there wasn't any way any of them could've found out about what happened. "No," She didn't meet Abby's eyes. "What happened?"

"Becker kicked him out. Literally," Connor walked in the door and snaked the bowl of the kitchen counter. "Thanks, Jess."

"Hey, how do you know I didn't cook it?" Abby asked, mock insulted.

He shrugged, "More like her."

"What do you mean 'Becker kicked him out?'" Jess asked, panic rising. Did Becker know?

"Like told him he was fired and pushed him into the elevator," Connor said through a mouthful of pasta. "Looked real pissed off. Wouldn't be surprised if Merryweather didn't make it to the ground floor. Wonder what he did."

Jess stared at the table but didn't see anything. Panic had set in. _How did Becker find out? Did Matt tell him? What did he do? Please don't let him have done anything stupid_. Thoughts ran through her like a pachinko machine.

Abby gave her a concerned look, "Jess, are you ok? You look a bit pale."

Jess shook herself out of her musing. "Yeah, I'm fine. I…" She pushed her plate away and stood up, "I just forgot to grab the sauce from the store. I'll be right back." She grabbed her keys from the ornate table near the door.

Connor frowned at the pasta, "Seems fine to me."

Abby ignored him, watching the door. Jess was acting weird, and not in a good way.

PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL

Becker put his feet up on the couch and took a sip of beer. It had been a bad day. Not as bad as some, but still a bad day. He still couldn't believe what had happened to Abby. Maybe he'd take her aside and have a quiet word with her tomorrow. She had to know that she could trust him. It hurt to think that she didn't.

A sudden, furious knocking started at the door. Becker frowned; he wasn't expecting anyone. "Who is it?" He walked over and opened the door to see a seething Jess standing there.

"How did you find out?" She demanded, barging her way inside his apartment.

_Was it cryptic Tuesday or something?_ He asked himself. "Find out what, Jess?"

"About Merryweather," He saw the flash of fear when she said his name and it all fell into place. Her sudden 'illness' and attitude over the past few days.

"It was you," His voice came out as a whisper. "I thought it was Abby."

"How did you come up with that? Didn't Matt tell you?"

Becker shook his head, still stunned. How could it have been Jess? She was supposed to be the safe one out of all of them. "Lester did. I just assumed…"

She paled even further and started pacing. "Lester knows? Oh God. He's going to be so mad."

Her words started catching up to him. "How did Matt find out?"

"He…" Jess stopped and bit her lip, looking down at the ground, "He saved me. He walked in before he could do much."

Becker couldn't help the flash of jealousy. It should have been him that saved Jess; that was his job. He was supposed to protect her, the whole team. "I'm sorry."

She took a deep breath, "It's not your fault."

"I'm supposed to protect you. It's my fault."

"Your job is to protect the team in the field. Not me."

"You're a part of the team, Jess. You realise that right?" He tried to look her in the eyes but she dodged his gaze and started walking randomly around the room, avoiding his eyes.

"No like that. You shouldn't have to worry about me."

He frowned at her words. "Jess, we worry about everyone in the team. That's how it works. You're as much a part of it as Abby or Connor or Matt," He argued with her, trying to make her see reason.

"No I'm not!" She cried, tears starting to form. "I'm a person behind a computer. Even Lester can do my job for me. I'm replaceable."

"Not to me you aren't." Becker didn't even realise he'd said the words.

She rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not." It shocked him that he had meant them; emotions were usually so foreign to him.

"Liar," She accused harshly then shook her head as if to clear it. "Sorry. I shouldn't have come. Just…" She paused at looked at him. "Don't tell anyone else. They shouldn't worry about me doing something stupid when they're in the field."

"Jess…"

"I mean it Becker," Her tears fell and she glared at him through them. "You can't tell them. It's bad enough you know."

"Be reasonable," He implored. "They'll just want to help."

"And by help they'll focus on me instead of their jobs and they'll get themselves killed. They don't need the distraction."

"Who says you get to make that decision?" Becker yelled at her, anger at her selfishness taking over. "They care about you. We care about you."

"Who says you can tell me what to do?" She yelled back, letting loose. "You're not the boss of me. It's not your decision."

"You're being stupid, Jess. And selfish," He added, lowering his volume slightly.

Her eyes flashed with hurt, "How dare you…"

"How dare I?" He scoffed, "You don't even see what you're doing is hurting us already. You're pushing us away."

"Am not. Hiding one secret never killed anyone."

"Killed Stephan Hart," Becker reminded her, knowing that she knew the story well. He'd told it to her one many occasions. "We have to trust each other with everything. We depend on it."

"I…"

"You getting hurt isn't a distraction. It's something that we work together to fix."

"I'm not broken," She looked up at him, defiant and angry at his insinuation.

"You could be if you don't let us help," He took a small step towards her. "I've seen people hide their pain until it blows up in their face, literally on occasions. I don't want it happen to you."

She looked up at him, blue eyes shining with unshed tears. "I don't want to distract the team."

"You don't have to," Becker held out his hand. "Come with me."


	8. Kiss With a Fist

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews :D. They really do make me write faster. (hint hint)

**Chapter 8: Kiss with a Fist**

Becker flicked a switch and the old bulbs swinging on the ceiling above them slowly came to life. "Welcome to Haven."

Jess turned around slowly, taking in the sight of the dingy hall. She'd never been anywhere like it. Everything was grey except three large bright blue mats strategically placed around the room. The walls were covered in dirt and crime, the floors weren't much better. She frowned at the red-brown stain to her left; it looked like blood. She subconscious moved closer to Becker. "What is this place?"

He looked down at her, slightly disappointed with her reaction. "It's a boxing hall," Becker explained, ducking under the rope that boxed in one of the thick mats. "A mate of mine runs it. I come here when I need to work through stuff."

She looked at him incredulously. "You brought me here to show me your place?"

Becker frowned, "It's not my place. It's my mates- I told you."

"No, _your _place," Jess enunciated the words as if they meant something important. "The place you go to feel safe, somewhere no one can hurt you."

He blinked at the explanation; he'd never thought of it like that. "I guess it is my place. But I didn't bring you here to show you it. I brought you here to use it."

"I don't box," She said simply, folding her arms.

"I know," He replied, "I'm going to teach you."

Her eyes grew wide, blue icebergs in a sea of pale skin. "What?"

"I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself," Becker explained slowly.

"Why?" She walked towards him, stopping uncertainly at the rope barrier.

"You said you don't want to be a distraction. If you can defend yourself against tossers like Merryweather, I won't be as worried about you."

"That is…"

Becker paused, waiting for her to say it was a stupid idea. It wasn't his ideal solution to the problem. That would be breaking the legs of anyone that dared hurt her or anyone he cared about but he could imagine her lecture if he tried to do that.

"… A good idea," Jess finished with a small smile. She ducked under the rope, joining him on the mat. "If I wasn't so weak I could've stopped him."

"That wasn't weakness, Jess, that was being unprepared."

She leant against the rope, letting it take her weight. She looked up at him dejectedly. "That's the same thing in my job."

Becker moved with lightening precision and speed, taking a step forward and wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her back against his chest.

Jess screamed in fright. She was trapped. "What are you doing?"

He could feel her hummingbird heartbeat beating rapidly. "Lesson one," he said softly. "Always be prepared." Becker let her go and took a few steps back to give her some room.

She didn't move. Her shoulder began to shake violently. Becker mentally cursed – he'd made her cry. "Hey," He reached out and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's alright."

She shook her head, not turning to look at him. "No it's not alright. I'm stupid."

"Jess, you are anything but stupid."

"I'm a fool then. A stupid silly fool," She sobbed. "I could have known what to do – you offered to teach me and I said no because I didn't think I would need it."

"Come here," He tugged lightly on her shoulder, turning her to face him. "You are not stupid. You are not a fool. You are Jess. You are brilliant."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better," She pouted slightly.

"Well yes…" Her face fell at his words. "But that doesn't mean they're not true."

Her eyes went wide. Jess had never heard him speak so openly like that before. Even when he was talking about Abby and Connor and Danny his accolades had been more reserved.

Becker bent slightly so he could look her in the eyes. "Okay?" He didn't like the silence she kept creating. He much preferred the happy noise.

She nodded, "Okay," And wiped away the vestiges of her tears.

"Ready for lesson two?" He stepped back, letting his hand fall away.

She nodded again, this time more certainly. "Just don't scare me like that again."

"Jess, I'd never hurt you. You have to believe me," Becker said sincerely.

"I know that," She replied, almost rolling her eyes at the thought. "You can just be really scary sometimes. Like a big bear."

A small chuckle escaped from his lips at her description, "If you say so."

"I say so," She narrowed her eyes playfully. "So what's lesson two?"

"Hit me."

"But I don't want to hurt you."

He held back a chuckle; he doubted that would happen. He wouldn't be teaching her if she could. "You won't hurt me Jess."

"But…"

"Aim for my arm and hit me as hard as you can. Open fisted," He added as an afterthought. "You don't want to break a finger."

She looked at him dubiously. "Are you sure?"

He gave her an exasperated look, "Jessica."

"Fine," She closed her eyes and swung her hand out, hitting his arm with a hard slap. "Ow. Ow. Ow," She leapt back, clutching her hand. "Are you made of steel or something?"

"Didn't I tell you I was Superman?" He joked before looking at her hand, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Jess answered, still massaging her hand.

"Good. Try again," Becker told her. "This time keep your arm more relaxed and throw your weight behind it."

She struck him again, following his instructions to the letter, and made him take a small step back. "I did it!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

"You did it. I told you that you were brilliant. Again."

Jess repeated the motion several times before he allowed her to switch arms. "I can see why Matt calls you a drill sergeant," She groaned, hitting him again.

"You'll thank me in the long run. Probably not tomorrow though," Becker answered lightly, easily taking the hit.

"I think you're going to have to remind me to thank you. My arms are killing me," She breathed, throwing a wild hit that caused her to loose balance and fall.

Becker caught her before she hit the ground and set her gently on her feet. "Maybe we should add balance training to the list."

"I can balance," Jess retorted indignantly. "I'm just tired."

Becker remembered how Matt had called them to work that morning. "Sorry. I forgot. We'll call it a night then. There's no point training too hard. You'll just hurt yourself."

"But we've only been here for an hour."

"We'll continue another time," Becker told her, pleased by her disappointed tone. She'd liked it, despite her complaints.

"Okay," She nodded, smiling slightly. "Probably not worth planning it now though is it? I mean with the anomalies popping up any time."

"No, probably not. We'll work it out though. We always do. Come on, I'll drop you home." He gestured for her to go first, chivalrous til the end.

She flashed him a small smile of gratitude. "But my car's at your place."

Becker shrugged. "I'll pick you up tomorrow. We have to get you the camping gear before Friday anyway."

She groaned, "I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me."

"I thought you were looking forward to it," Becker cast her a sideways look as they walked out of the boxing hall.

"I was. But that was before…" She trailed off, not wanting to elaborate. They both knew what she meant. "Now all I want to do this weekend is curl up with a book and eat ridiculous amounts of chocolate."

"You could still do that while camping," He pointed out. "The two aren't mutually exclusive." He turned around, fishing some keys out of his pocket and locked the door behind them.

"Have you ever tried to read with Connor nearby? He's like a one man talk show sometimes."

"So I'll bring duck tape."

"Becker!" Jess glowered at him. "What would Abby say?"

"Thank you?" He smirked and opened his car.

"That's not funny. Violence is never the answer."

Becker held back his opinion. She didn't need someone to argue with; she needed someone to keep her safe. "Ready to go home?"

"Not really," Jess answered but slid into the car. "I think I wigged Abby and Connor out when I left."

Becker started the car, "I'm sure they'll understand." He caught her guilty expression and realised something. "You haven't told them. You didn't tell anyone."

She shook her head, biting her lip. "No."

"You should. It might help you," Becker suggested softly, not wanting to offend her. "At least tell Abby, she'll understand better than me or Matt."

"I'll think about it," Jess told him.

"No pressure though. Completely your choice."

They fell into silence but it wasn't awkward, just companionable. They were halfway down Jess' street when she realised they hadn't organised the next day. "What time are you picking me up?"

"Um, half six?"

She looked at him, "How about we make that half seven?"

"Half the day's wasted then," He complained, only half serious.

"Yeah, well I need my beauty sleep," Jess retorted, smiling lightly as they pulled up outside her flat. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"At half past seven," Becker nodded. "Bye Jess."

"Bye," She closed the door and slowly walked up the stairs to her flat. Becker waited until she'd opened the door before leaving. The flat was quiet as she walked into the dark living room. She reasoned that Abby and Connor were asleep. She sighed heavily and took off her jacket.

A light flickered on. "Where the hell have you been? You've been gone for hours. I've been worried about you."

A/N: So I actually did research for this chapter but it's probably not that accurate. I was more concerned with hitting myself in the face than memorising what the teacher said. So apologies for any mistakes. I'm a dancer, not a fighter. That said, pretty please review. You'll make my day.


	9. Show Your Scars

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. You wouldn't believe how happy they make me. As a reward, in your next review, suggest a typical first date. Who knows, it might make it into the story. Hint hint.

**Chapter 9: Show Your Scars.**

_A light flickered on. "Where the hell have you been? You've been gone for hours. I've been worried about you."_

Jess turned, jumping at the sudden noise, "Abby?"

Abby sat on the couch, Connor's head resting on her lap. She looked up at Jess questioningly then her eyes fell to the darkening red marks on the younger girl's arms.

Connor took his nose out of the book he was reading, "What am I?" He asked, not noticing the tense looks between the girls. "Invisible?"

Abby ignored him. "Jess… What happened?"

The concern in her voice made the walls Jess had built around her crumble. Becker's words floated back to her. Tell her. "I was…" She struggled to say the word, as if admitting it made it true. "Attacked."

Abby stared at her, in shock, she hadn't been expecting that. Connor sat up, book falling to the ground with a thud. "You what?"

She started to shake as the memories she'd been avoiding returned with a vengeance. "Yesterday. Before you got into the ARC."

Abby stood and pulled the trembling girl into a tight embrace. "Why didn't you tell us? We could have helped you."

"Who was it Jess?" Connor asked, his voice unusually tense. Revenge was clearly on his mind.

Jess looked at him over Abby's shoulder. He had the same angry expression Matt had when he saved her. "Connor, don't do anything stupid." She paused, waiting for the witty retort that he always made. But he didn't say a word. He just waited for the answer to his question. "Becker already-"

Connor cut her off. "Becker?" He asked disbelievingly before continuing without taking a breath. "I'm going to go have a few words with him. I don't care how messed up loosing Sarah made him. I'm-"

"Connor, shut up!" Abby glared at him, letting go of Jess but keeping a comforting hold of her hand. "Becker wouldn't hurt her. Let her explain before you jump down her throat."

"Thanks Abby," Jess said quietly. "It was Merryweather," She said in an even smaller voice. "I was trying to say that Becker already fired him."

"That was why he was so mad with him," Realisation dawned on Abby. She'd never seen Becker treat one of his men so roughly outside of training before.

"Kinda. He thought it was you at that time though."

"Me?" Abby echoed, taking a step back. "Why would he think it was me?"

Jess shrugged. "I don't know." She sat heavily on the couch. "I don't know."

Connor shot Abby a look, clearly asking for conformation it wasn't her as well. He wouldn't be able to operate if he knew he'd failed her again.

She shook her head at him, answering the silent question. She'd drop kick the sod who tried anything on her. Had done so several times in the past. Abby sat down next to Jess, rubbing small circles on her back.

Connor looked at them, feeling helpless. He was useless at comforting people. "Do you want me to make some tea? Tea solves everything, yeah? I'll go make some tea," Connor rambled, answering his own questions and backed into the adjoining kitchen.

Abby rolled her eyes and Jess smiled a bit. It was so Connor. "He means well…" Abby said, gazing at him over her shoulder with a faint fond smile.

"It's fine. It's sweet really. You're lucky," She looked down at the ground, tracing an invisible pattern with her foot.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Abby offered. "It might help."

Jess chuckled humorously. "That's what Becker said."

"Really? I can't imagine him suggesting that."

"He's not that bad," Jess defended Becker in his absence.

"Who's not bad?" Connor walked back in, carefully balancing three steaming mugs of tea.

"No one," Abby said, covering for Jess. She could tell the girl didn't need any more embarrassment tonight.

"Right. Wasn't me was it?" Connor asked, handing Jess a mug. "Milk and too much sugar to be good for you?"

"You remembered," She remembered, touched at the small gesture.

"No, Connor. We weren't talking about you. The world does not revolve around you."

Connor put on a mock hurt face. "You wound me Abby." He caught onto what she was trying to do.

Abby rolled her eyes, "See what I have to put up with?" She turned to Jess, attempting to elicit a smile.

Jess merely looked at her, "Could be worse."

Abby sighed and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a sideways hug. "It's okay Jess. He won't touch you again."

"I know," She put her head on Abby's shoulder. "Becker and Matt made sure of that."

"Well now I feel redundant," Connor sat down on her other side. "Anything I can do to make you feel better? I can hack his bank account and make him so deep in the red that he won't be able to see any other colour."

"Connor," Abby said in her patented 'Shut up Connor' tone.

"Not helping am I?"

Jess shook her head, "But thank you for trying." She sighed heavily, "I just want to forget everything."

Connor leapt up. "That I can do."

Abby looked at him suspiciously. "Why don't I like the sound of that?"

"You don't trust me," Connor sounded hurt. "Trust me, you'll like this. It's a movie marathon."

"No Star Wars!" Abby yelled as he ran to his room to grab the DVDs.

"I like Star Wars," Jess pipped up quietly.

Connor poked his head out of his room, "Another person with good taste. Sorry Abby, looks like you're out numbered."

She huffed. "I'm surrounded by crazy people."

"You love it," Connor retorted cheerfully, coming back to the room, triumphantly holding the DVDs. "Prepare to be distracted for at least 6 hours of mind blowing goodness."

PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL#PRIMEVAL

Becker hesitated before pressing the doorbell. He was early picking Jess up. Hoping she wouldn't mind, he pressed the doorbell again. He figured the sooner they got in, the sooner they'd get out. Becker checked his watch, it was 7:20, and surely she would be nearly ready."

The door opened and a bleary eyed Connor stared at him. "What are you doing here?"

Becker looked at him. "I'm here to pick Jess up. I'm meant to be helping her get organised for the camping trip. Is she ready?"

Connor smirked and took a step to the side, "Take a look for yourself."

Becker brushed past him and stopped short when he saw Jess and Abby still asleep on the couch, a tangled mess of limbs and brightly coloured throw pillows. "I'm going to be waiting a while, aren't I?"

"Yep," Connor patted him on the back. "I'll wake them and you make the coffee. Help yourself too. Just leave enough for Abby and me."

"Not Jess?"

"Mate, you wouldn't ask that question if you've ever seen her on caffeine. Think hyperactive squirrel on crack."

Becker shook his head as he went into the kitchen, the description bringing a smile to his lips. He could see that happening very clearly – _it would be amusing to see_, he thought to himself.

He heard Connor walking around in the lounge room, chuckling to himself. Becker frowned: that was not a good sign. "Connor? What are you-" His last word was drowned out by Abby's high pitched shriek.

"Connor! What was that for?"

Jess' sleepy voice floated into the kitchen. "What time is it?"

"Well, in answer to your questions. Becker is in the kitchen, waiting on you Jess."

Becker heard the sound of feet running into the kitchen and sat down on the stool to make it look like he'd been there a while. "I am so sorry about this. So sorry. I'll be ready in ten minutes, I promise."

Becker looked at her over his cup of coffee. "Don't worry about it. You're coffee is better than mine."

"Just give me ten minutes, tops." She sprinted down the hall to her room, flinging the door shut behind her.

Becker took a sip of coffee. He didn't lie – it was good. But that wasn't the reason for his smile. She was… endearing when she was flustered like that. He froze and the errant thought. _Wait…_

"Someone's happy," Abby commented, opening up the fridge. "Did you drop Merryweather of a bridge?"

"She told you then?"

Abby nodded. "Why you thought it was me I have no idea."

"You're the one who has contact with my men," Becker replied, showing his logic. "And the way Matt behaved as well."

"And the thought of Jess getting hurt never crossed your mind," Abby added in the final piece.

Becker blinked, "How did you know that?"

"It's written all over your face," Connor strode passed him, snagging his coffee.

"Hey, that was mine!" Becker threw him a dirty look.

"Yeah, well it's my mug," Connor shot back, taking an exaggerated sip. He pulled a face. "That's awful."

"That's why you don't steal my coffee," Becker replied smugly. "It's too strong for you."

"Oh, is this going to turn into one of those macho 'I'm stronger than you' things?" Abby complained, pouring milk into her coffee. "I haven't woken up enough to put up with that."

"Well we know who the winner is, don't we?" Becker glared at Connor.

"Abby, help me out here," He turned to her, expression pleading.

"After you chucked water on me to wake me up?" She folded her arms and leant against the kitchen counter.

Becker chuckled; Connor was in the doghouse.

"You've chucked salad on me before to wake me up. And then told Rex to eat it!"

Jess walked in, dressed in a knee length poofy black skirt and bright red silk top. "Ready to go?"

Connor opened his mouth to say something but a warning glance from Abby silence him.

Becker jumped off the chair. "Of course," He waved a hand in front of gallantly. "After you."

She smiled, "Thank you Captain."

"My pleasure Miss Parker," He replied, almost playfully.

Abby looked at Connor as the others left. "I've never seen him do that."

"Do what?" Connor asked, searching the pantry for food.

"Flirt."

Connor hit his head on a shelf, rising too quickly. "With Jess? That was flirting?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes Connor. Do I need to teach you how to flirt again?"

He smiled back, eyes twinkling. "You could try but I think my charms will win you over before you begin."

She grinned seductively at him, leaning towards him. "OK, show me then Casanova."


	10. I Got You

A/N: So whoever is the first to review this chapter is the 100th reviewer, which I really can't believe. I didn't expect to get 10 reviews let alone 100 so thank you so much to everyone that does review. The 100th reviewer will get a prize: a small one-shot for a pairing of their choice. Again, thank you for the reviews.

Chapter 10: I Got You

Jess fiddled with the edge of her skirt; the silence in the car was killing her. She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to make an idiot of herself, especially when it was Becker sitting next to her. She settled for watching the city fly by through the window. _Better safe than sorry_, she thought.

Becker watched her squirming around in his peripheral vision. He was strangely disappointed she wasn't comfortable around him but he supposed it was to be expected._ If I ever see Merryweather again_… He decided to break the silence that was making her so tense. "So what was the movie you watched last night?"

She turned to face him, a small smile on her lips. "Star Wars - the classic ones of course."

"Connor made you, huh?" He nodded sympathetically.

"No, I agreed. I'm a science fiction fan. Had no choice really. It was all Dad watched. I think I broke his heart when I started watching chick flicks."

"Or you broke his sanity. Those movies drive me crazy."

She giggled, "Really? Why?"

"They're just so…." He searched for the word. "Cliché?"

"I know what you mean. I can't watch too many but still…" She shrugged. "Good for a mindless night out."

"That's why they invented the pub," He replied, smirking when she rolled her eyes at him.

"Such a typical guy."

"Actually, I think fighting dinosaurs makes me rather atypical if you ask me."

She rolled her eyes again, "Of course it does."

"How many people outside of the ARC can truthfully claim that they fight dinosaurs?"

"At least a couple hundred."

Becker sent her a baffled look. "And who would that be?"

"All the IT people that have to deal with ancient computers. They're called dinosaurs." She gave him an innocent grin.

This time, he rolled his eyes. "Jess…"

"Well that's what they're called," She retorted, biting back her smile. "You didn't define the context of the word."

"I'll do that next time," He pulled into a car park and turned off the ignition.

"We're here?" Jess looked around the vacant car park to see a bright green building to their right. "That's it?"

"No, I just stopped here for no reason at all," Becker told her sarcastically and got out of the car. "And yes, this is it."

"It's huge," She jumped out of the car, shiveringly slightly at the cool breeze. Winter was coming early this year.

"Yes," He agreed and put a hand on the small of her back, leading her into the camping shop.

Walking in, Jess turned and looked around, clearly impressed. "It's huge."

"You've said that."

"I know that but it's huge," She gestured to the spacious room with large shelves stacked with equipment separating the aisles. "I was expecting something… smaller."

"Come on," Becker started moving to the back of the shop, "We'll start with the tents and work our way to the front."

"Can't we just wander?" She followed him, pausing to look at things she'd never seen before.

"That will take too long. And we'd miss essential things. It's better to have a plan of attack."

"Spoken like a good little soldier boy."

Becker groaned, "Who told you about that?"

"Connor," She smiled at him. "He's been telling me a lot of stories."

"Don't believe everything he tells you; he's prone to exaggeration," Becker kept moving, not looking at Jess. He could only imagine the stories Connor had been coming up with.

"So you didn't run into a brick wall while chasing _something_?" She asked with barely contained laughter. They both knew that by something, she meant creature.

"That was entirely Temple's fault. If I hadn't had to drag him away, I would've seen where I was going."

She laughed. "It's ok. I do stupid stuff like that all the time."

"What did you do?" He looked down at her, almost smiling at her smile. It had been a while since he'd seen her so relaxed and happy.

"Like I'm going to tell you," She rolled her eyes before something caught her attention. Jess pointed at a something behind Becker like an excited child. "I want that one."

Becker followed her gaze and held back a groan. "Of course you do," He sighed. It was a bright pink three man tent with a matching musk pink tarp for extra protection and covering. "I am not going to be seen anywhere near that thing."

"Well it's a good thing that I'm not sharing with you then isn't it?"

He looked around for more tastefully coloured tents, "Any chance you'd want something less…" He searched for a word that would offend her, "bright."

"Nope," She shook her head. "It will work, won't it?"

He bit back a chuckle; she really didn't have a clue. "Yes Jess, it will work. But something less bright might be better. I don't want to attract any _somethings_."

"Are you honestly expecting somethings to turn up at our camp site?"

Becker gave her a pointed look, "In this job, I learnt to expect the unexpected."

"Well I'm protesting the unexpected. If any somethings turn up, they can just deal with my pink tent," She folded her arms and nodded her head as if that made the decision.

He chuckled, "I'm sure they'll take one look at it and run a mile."

She slapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, I like it."

Becker knelt down and picked up one of the boxed tents. "Your wish is my command, Your Majesty."

"I can carry it Becker. I didn't ask you too," Jess went to take the box out of his arms.

"I was taking a leaf out of your book and being pre-emptive. It's scary how you do that when we're out in the field."

Jess didn't know what to say, "Thank you. I'm just doing my job."

"And I'm just doing mine. You just make it easier."


	11. All the Magic We Made

A/N thank you to all my lovely reviewers XD You guys rock.

**Chapter 11: All the Magic We Made**

"Are we there yet?"

Matt's lips thinned and his hands tightened around the steering wheel. "No, Connor we are not there."

"For the hundredth time," Becker added, turning around in his seat to glower at the younger man.

Connor shrunk under the glare. "Just asking a question, mate. No need to bite my head off."

Abby rolled her eyes and went back to staring out the window. There was nothing but trees passing by in a dark green blur. There weren't even any other cars passing them. She sighed; it was too much like the cretaceous for her liking.

Connor put a hand on her knee, "You ok?" He mouthed.

She nodded tightly, squeezing his hand. He didn't want to be here anymore than she did. There were too many bad memories hiding in the wild undergrowth for their liking.

"If you two are going to spend the weekend making faces at each other, can you at least wait till we get there?" Matt asked, glancing at them through the review mirror.

"Why wait when we can torture you now?" Connor quipped lightly, not taking his eyes off Abby.

"Connor…" Becker trailed off warningly.

"What are you going to do?" Connor retorted, "Leave me in the middle of the woods? Oh wait, we're already doing that."

"You could at least try to be positive about it Connor," Jess spoke up, pulling her headphones out of her ears. "It might be fun."

"Jess is right," Abby said with a tone of finality. She looked at Connor meaningfully. "It will be fun."

He leant back into the seat, folding his arms, and mumbling something no one could hear.

Becker caught Jess' eye in the review mirror and smiled, rolling his eyes at Connor's antics. She giggled quietly and quickly looked back out the window, her cheeks turning a pleasant pink. His smile grew; she was adorable.

##JESKER#JESKER#

Jess fumbled with the tent peg, trying to get it to stay straight. "Come on," She breathed, frustration getting the best of her. "It can't possibly be that hard." Strong hands crept around her side and wrapped themselves over hers, helping her keep the peg steady. Her breath caught in her throat. She knew who those hands belonged to.

Becker's voice sounded in her ear, closer than she'd expected. "It helps to have another set of hands." He handed her the small hammer to knock the metal peg into the ground and waited as she did. Jess turned to see him smile again, "See, wasn't that hard now was it?"

"No. Thanks for the help," She sat down on the grass next to her half assembled tent. "You didn't tell me it was this exhausting."

He chuckled, "exhausting? Remind me to add cardio to our training regime."

Jess groaned, "You're worse than a personal trainer."

"And better in so many ways," A smug grinned donned his lips. "Would a personal trainer help you put up your tent?"

"Thank you," She said, knowing he was about to start doing it for her. Sometimes he was so predictable.

"I haven't done anything yet," Becker replied, not able to keep the smile off his face.

"But you're about to," Her eye sparkled as they looked up at him. "Pretty please?"

"Fine," He stood up. "But only because I can't resist those eyes." They really were beautiful. Becker froze, realising what he'd just said.

Jess noticed but pretended not to, ignoring the awkward silence Becker had made. "I've tried to read the instructions but there all in Chinese."

"They're always in Chinese," Becker said, relieved for the change of subject. He couldn't believe he'd said that. "It's what makes it interesting."

Jess' lips quirked, "I think Connor would disagree with you on that." She looked over to where their friend was angrily marching across a half made tent, carrying two odd tent poles.

Becker shrugged, "He's a genius: he'll work it out eventually." He picked up the hammer and walked to the next corner of the tent. "Can you pass me one of the pegs please?"

Jess obeyed, fetching a peg from the neat pile she'd created. "Anything else you want?"

He hammered in the peg, "Don't think so. You've already put in all the poles haven't you?"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm not that much of an idiot, Becker."

"I know. I was just checking," He pulled at the corner of the tent that was to become its apex and the tent snapped into shape, looking like a triangular pink beach ball. "See, you did good."

"You helped," Jess pointed out.

"You did most of it," Becker retorted, falling comfortably into their familiar playfulness. It felt good, felt right to him.

"I was copying what Matt did," Jess admitted, looking at the ground.

"That's smarter than what the so called genius over there is doing," Becker smirked.

"Don't be mean," She hit him on the arm playfully. "He's trying."

Connor looked over at them as if he heard them talking about him. "If you two are done with yours, wanna help a mate out?"

Becker turned back to Jess, "Wanna go for a walk?"

Jess looked between him and Connor, "We really should help him. It's supposed to be team building."

"Well now it's character building," Becker replied, taking her small hand in his. "Come one, I want to show you something."

She looked at him uncertainly then nodded and followed his lead.

They heard Connor shout something after them but couldn't make out the words.

"I hope he's not too upset," Jess commented, still holding onto Becker's hand. They weren't following any path she could see and she was starting to think they were lost. "Is this the part where you kill me?"

He stopped, "Jess, I would never hurt you." He looked at her with such sincerity she had to look away or be forever lost in his dark eyes. "Besides, if this was a horror movie, Matt would be the one to die first."

"Why Matt? Wouldn't it be Connor or me?"

"Because Connor would be the geek that finally worked out what the monster eating us would be so he needs to stay until close to the end. And the pretty girl never dies."

Jess felt her blush returning. "Becker…"

He cut her off, "We're here."

She craned around him to see what he was talking about. "Wow." They stood at the edge of grass clearing. Yellow daises littered the greenery like bright paint splatters on a canvas. "It's gorgeous."

Becker smiled. "I know. I thought you'd like it."

"Like it? I love it!" She enthused, her voice bubbling with happiness. "It looks just like a painting." She turned and flung herself into his arms without thinking. "Thank you for showing me this. It's amazing."

He caught her and held her close. "It was my pleasure," He smiled, resting his chin on top of her head. She fitted just perfectly. They stayed like that for a few minutes, just existing in the moment.

Jess pulled away first. "Becker, I have…" She trailed off, her eyes meeting his and words lost meaning. They were speaking without words, just with emotion. Space and time ceased to exist.

Becker held her gaze, silently questioning whether he should act on the impulse running wild in his mind. He gave into it. His lips met hers softly at first, giving her a chance to reject him, to run away and pretend it never happened. She didn't run away, she didn't reject him. Jess deepened the kiss until both of them pulled away, breathing hard. "Jess…"

She looked up at him with a doe eyed expression, as if she couldn't believe what had just happened. "Please tell me I am not dreaming."

"You're not dreaming Jess," Becker told her. "Unless we're both having the same dream."

"In that case, I don't ever want to wake up."

He blinked at her words. "Do you mean that?"

"Did you mean the kiss?" She countered, not wanting to answer that question just yet.

He hesitated before answering, "Yes."

"Then I meant it," She didn't hesitate, didn't look away from his eyes.

"Good," He relaxed, letting go of a breath he didn't know he was holding.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her laughing, as she turned and ran into the field. "And now you have to chase me."

"And why do I have to do that?" He followed her, letting her lead him this time.

"Because you have to catch me to kiss me," She declared, letting go of his hand and running into the field of daises.

He laughed, watching her run from him. He'd give her a head start then he'd catch her and never let her go.

THE END

(Technically it's the beginning but that's another story)

A/N: This was supposed to be much longer and better but time (and real life) will not allow it. I hope you liked the story and please, tell me what you think. Be critical please, I really do want to improve and that's the best way.

Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers. You guys really are the best.


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